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Eppley Airfield

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Eppley Airfield (IATA: OMA, ICAO: KOMA, FAA LID: OMA), also known as Omaha Airport, is an airport in the midwestern United States, located three miles (5 km) northeast of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. On the west bank of the Missouri River in Douglas County, it is the largest airport in Nebraska, with more arrivals and departures than all other airports in the state combined. It is classified as a medium hub airport by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It is owned and operated by the Omaha Airport Authority (OAA).

Eppley Airfield
The OMA logo, styled after the Dance of the Cranes statue situated on the airport grounds
Eppley Airfield in December 2006
Summary
Owner/OperatorOmaha Airport Authority
ServesEastern Nebraska
and Western Iowa
Location4501 Abbott Drive
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Elevation AMSL984 ft / 300 m
Coordinates41°18′00″N 95°53′42″W / 41.30°N 95.895°W / 41.30; -95.895
Websiteflyoma.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
14R/32L 9,502 2,896 Asphalt/concrete
14L/32R 8,501 2,591 Concrete
18/36 8,154 2,485 Asphalt/concrete
Statistics (2023)
Aircraft movements98,398
Passengers5,026,639
Air cargo (lbs)115,115,185
Based aircraft113 (2022)
Sources: FAA[1] and airport website[2][3]

Location

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The airport is northeast of downtown in east Omaha. Although the airport is in Nebraska on the west side of the Missouri River, it is surrounded on the east, west, and south by Iowa: the Missouri River formed an oxbow west of the land that became Eppley Airfield. The river cut off the oxbow during an 1877 flood, leaving behind Carter Lake on a portion of its former course; the Supreme Court ruled in 1893 that though the land cut off by the river's changed route now lay west of the Missouri, it remained part of Iowa. This land eventually became the city of Carter Lake, Iowa.[4]

History

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Eppley Airfield began as an extension of Levi Carter Park near East Omaha in 1925. That year, the City of Omaha acquired 200 acres (0.8 km2) of cleared land on the east side of Carter Lake. Almost immediately, planes started landing and taking off there.[5] A lawsuit was launched against the City in 1927 when a group wanted to build a hangar there. The lawsuit failed, and the land was called both the Omaha Municipal Airport and the American Legion Airport.[6]

The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 42 scheduled airline departures per day, with 23 by United Airlines and 19 by Braniff International Airways. The airport is named for Eugene C. Eppley, founder of the Eppley Hotel chain, from whose estate $1 million was used to ready the then-Omaha Municipal Airport for jet aircraft in 1959–60.[7] This was matched by the federal government and improvements were made to handle jets at the airport, which was renamed Eppley Airfield in his honor in 1960.[8] The first jets to land in Omaha were United Boeing 720s in August 1960.

The terminal building, opened in 1961, was designed by James C. Buckley, Inc.[9] Concourse B opened in 1970,[10] and was remodeled when Concourse A opened in 1986.[11]

Omaha Airport Authority

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Created in 1959, the Omaha Airport Authority is governed by a five member appointed board and is responsible for sole jurisdiction and operation of Eppley Airfield.[12]

Hubs and operations

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Midwest Airlines, then known as Midwest Express Airlines, operated a hub at Eppley Airfield from 1995 to 2002 with flights to Milwaukee, Newark, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Diego, and Washington–Reagan; the airport remained a focus city with nonstop flights to Milwaukee and Washington–Reagan until the airline merged with Frontier Airlines in 2009.[13]

During 2017, Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines were the largest carriers and served 33.7, 21.6, and 18.7 percent of passengers, respectively.[2]

The airport has an on-site U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility that handles international, charter, and private flights. Eppley's first commercial, international flight began May 1, 2018, when Air Canada Express launched a daily flight to Toronto Pearson International Airport; this service ended on October 4, 2019.

Facilities

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Eppley Airfield covers 2,650 acres (4.1 sq mi; 10.7 km2) at an elevation of 984 feet (300 m) above sea level. The airfield has three runways: 14R-32L, 14L-32R, and 18-36. On average, seven airlines provide approximately 88 departures per day to 33 nonstop destinations. The airport is also serviced by seven freight companies.[12][14]

Terminals

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The South Terminal, including Concourse A, includes gates A1 through A10, baggage claims 1 through 3, and serves Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Frontier Airlines. Gate assignments: Alaska Airlines (A9), Allegiant Air (A1), American (A6-A8, A10), Delta (A2-A5), and Frontier (A1).

The North Terminal, including Concourse B, includes gates B11 through B20, baggage claims 4 through 6, and serves Southwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, and United Airlines. Gate assignments: Southwest (B16-B19), Sun Country (B15), and United (B11-B14). Gate B20 is currently not in use due to construction related to the airport's BuildOMA Terminal Modernization Project.

Ground transportation

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The airport is near four major highways: Interstate 80, Interstate 480, Interstate 680, and Interstate 29.

The airport has a consolidated rental car facility connected to the North Terminal.

Metro Transit Line 16[15] provides limited weekday-only rush-hour service southbound toward downtown and northbound toward the North Omaha Transit Center. Express Arrow intercity buses to Norfolk stop at the terminal.[16] Passenger access is located directly outside the terminal.

Expansion

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In January 2016, Eppley Airfield completed expansion of its on-site United States Customs and Border Protection facility (CBP) to provide greater customs and inspection services for international passengers. Eppley Airfield is classified as a "Customs Landing Rights Airport" for international flights by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Scheduled, commercial international service began on May 1, 2018, when Air Canada Express launched a daily flight to Toronto–Pearson. That service ended on October 4, 2019. The airport also handles international cargo, charter, and private flights.

Extensive upgrades are planned for Eppley Airfield in the near future to modernize the terminal, add gates and facilities, and improve the passenger experience. In January 2024, the Omaha Airport Authority announced plans for a $950 million expansion of the terminal, details of which included some upgrades which had been previously announced and on which construction is ongoing or soon to begin. A new passenger drop-off lane, a protective canopy over the passenger pick-up and drop-off area, and improved ADA-compliant accessibility modifications to this area are scheduled to be completed by spring 2025. To enable construction in this area, passenger pick-up and drop-off and lanes for buses, shuttles, and taxis have been temporarily shifted to a portion of the first floor of the South parking garage.[17]

Passenger security screening will be consolidated before the entrance to the new terminal so that passengers will not have to exit and go through security again to move between concourses as currently occurs. Councourses A and B will be joined by a long central corridor, expanding the new unified concourse from 375,000 to 646,000 square feet. The gates will be rearranged and two new gates added, for a total of twenty-two gates and the possibility of future expansion to the north. Space for boarding areas at each gate as well as the baggage claim area will be increased, and new retail options and concessions will be added. Two gates will be initially devoted to international flights in a new Customs and Border Protection international arrivals hall.[18]

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Alaska Airlines Seattle/Tacoma [19][20]
Allegiant Air Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford, Phoenix/Mesa, St. Petersburg/Clearwater
Seasonal: Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Punta Gorda (FL) 		[21][22][23]
American Airlines Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Phoenix–Sky Harbor
Seasonal: Miami		 [24][25]
American Eagle Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Los Angeles, New York–LaGuardia, Philadelphia (resumes June 5, 2025)[26]
Seasonal: Dallas/Fort Worth 		[27]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul		 [28]
Delta Connection Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York–LaGuardia, Salt Lake City, Washington–National [28][29]
Frontier Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth,[30] Denver
Seasonal: Orlando 		[22][31]
Southwest Airlines Atlanta, Chicago–Midway, Dallas–Love, Denver, Houston–Hobby, Las Vegas, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, St. Louis, Washington–National
Seasonal: Austin (begins November 23, 2024),[32] Fort Lauderdale,[33] Nashville, Orlando, Tampa 		[34]
United Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental [35]
United Express Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental
Seasonal: San Francisco 		[35]
Passenger destinations map
class=notpageimage|
Domestic destinations from Eppley Airfield
Red = Year-round destination
Green = Seasonal destination
Blue = Future destination

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinationsRefs
AirNet Express Des Moines
Amazon Air Fort Worth/Alliance [36]
Ameriflight Broken Bow, Grand Island, Hastings, Norfolk, O'Neill [37]
DHL Aviation Cincinnati, St. Louis [38]
FedEx Express Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Grand Island, Indianapolis, Kearney, McCook, Memphis, North Platte [39][40]
UPS Airlines Chicago/Rockford, Fargo, Louisville, Phoenix–Sky Harbor [41]

Statistics

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Top destinations

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Busiest domestic routes from OMA (August 2023 – July 2024)[42]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1   Denver, Colorado 411,100 Frontier, Southwest, United
2   Atlanta, Georgia 218,730 Delta, Southwest
3   Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois 213,880 American, United
4   Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 199,690 American, Frontier
5   Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 197,350 American, Southwest
6   Chicago–Midway, Illinois 172,600 Southwest
7   Las Vegas, Nevada 144,740 Allegiant, Frontier, Southwest
8   Charlotte, North Carolina 109,970 American
9   St. Louis, Missouri 100,860 Southwest
10   Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 100,480 Delta, Sun Country

Airline market share

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Largest airlines at OMA
(August 2022 – July 2023)[42]
Carrier Passengers (arriving and departing)
Southwest
1,742,000(36.59%)
American
728,000(15.30%)
United
701,000(14.73%)
SkyWest
513,000(10.79%)
Delta
408,000(8.58%)
Other Airlines
668,000(14.03%)

Annual traffic

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Annual passenger traffic at OMA airport. See Wikidata query.
Annual passenger traffic (enplaned and deplaned) at OMA, 2000–2023[43]
2000s 2010s 2020s
Year Passengers Change Year Passengers Change Year Passengers Change
2000 3,814,440  01.08%0 2010 4,287,428  01.65%0 2020 2,140,016  057.4%0
2001 3,653,521  04.21%0 2011 4,212,399  01.75%0 2021 3,749,337  075.2%0
2002 3,608,231  01.23%0 2012 4,127,344  02.02%0 2022 4,506,713  020.2%0
2003 3,667,190  01.63%0 2013 4,042,333  02.06%0 2023 5,026,639  011.5%0
2004 3,868,217  05.48%0 2014 4,119,730  01.91%0
2005 4,193,046  08.40%0 2015 4,169,467  01.21%0
2006 4,229,856  00.88%0 2016 4,349,486  04.32%0
2007 4,421,274  04.53%0 2017 4,611,906  06.03%0
2008 4,370,137  01.16%0 2018 5,043,194  09.35%0
2009 4,217,718  03.49%0 2019 5,023,668  00.39%0

Accidents and incidents

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  • On December 6, 1978, a Douglas DC-6 operated by the Mexican Air Force, a military flight bound for San Antonio International Airport, suffered an engine fire on takeoff and crashed into a flood-control levee at the airport boundary half a mile north of Eppley, killing all seven occupants on board. The aircraft had been undergoing maintenance for three days and was reportedly leaking oil from one of its engines as it attempted to take off.[44]
  • On April 26, 2024, the airport was struck by an EF2 tornado as part of a wider outbreak in the region. Several general aviation hangars were destroyed, damaging or destroying approximately 30 airplanes.[45] The airport briefly closed to assess the damage, but reopened shortly afterward.[46]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ FAA Airport Form 5010 for OMA PDF, effective October 31, 2024
  2. ^ a b Eppley Airfield, official website
  3. ^ "Eppley Airfield 2023 Statistics" (PDF). flyoma.com. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  4. ^ Nebraska v. Iowa, 406 U.S. 117 (1972).
  5. ^ "A History of Omaha's Eppley Airfield", Adam Fletcher Sasse, NorthOmahaHistory.com. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  6. ^ Leslie R Valentine, "The Development of the Omaha Municipal Airfield, 1924–1930[usurped]," Nebraska History 61 (1980): 400–420.
  7. ^ Eppley Grant of $1 Million Gives Omaha Jet Field - Lincoln Evening Journal, December 31, 1959
  8. ^ "Municipal airport new name 'Eppley Airfield'," Omaha World-Herald, January 13, 1960
  9. ^ American Aviation. Vol. 24. 1960.
  10. ^ Mezzy, Dick (July 5, 1970). "Eppley Elevated Terminal Ready". Lincoln Star. p. 16. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  11. ^ "Airport Authority of the City of Omaha, Airport Facilities Revenue Bonds" (PDF). www.fpr.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Airport Facts/Stats".
  13. ^ "Frontier Airlines and Midwest to fly under one name - Apr. 13, 2010". money.cnn.com. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  14. ^ "OMA airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  15. ^ "Bus Route 16 - Omaha Metro". Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  16. ^ "Routes and Schedules". Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  17. ^ Dvorak, Gina (October 19, 2023). "Eppley Airfield shifting passenger drop-off, pick-up locations through Spring 2025". WOWT-TV. Omaha, NE. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  18. ^ "Eppley Airfield announces $950 million expansion plan". WOWT. Omaha, Nebraska. January 17, 2024.
  19. ^ "Alaska Airlines West Coast network changes Sep 2019 – May 2020". Routes Online. September 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  20. ^ "Flight Timetable". Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  21. ^ "Allegiant Airlines Interactive Route Map". Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  22. ^ a b "Non-Stop Destinations".
  23. ^ "Home". allegiantair.com.
  24. ^ "Flight schedules and notifications". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  25. ^ @OMAairport (February 13, 2020). "Can we celebrate #ValentinesDay a bit..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ "Summer 2025: American Airlines Expands in Europe". Airways Magazine. September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  27. ^ "American Airlines Uses Partnerships to Grow Its Network, Offer Customers More Choice, and Provide a Premier Travel Experience in the Northeast". news.aa.com.
  28. ^ a b "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  29. ^ "Delta to launch Los Angeles-Omaha service in November 2019". news.delta.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  30. ^ "Frontier Airlines Announces New Routes, Expanding Operations Across 38 Airports". Frontier Airlines Announces New Routes, Expanding Operations Across 38 Airports.
  31. ^ "Frontier". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  32. ^ "Southwest Airlines Check Flight Schedules". Southwest. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  33. ^ "Southwest Airlines Extends Flight Schedule Through March 6, 2024, and Adds New Seasonal Service". swamedia.com. June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  34. ^ "Southwest Airlines - Route Map". Southwest.com. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  35. ^ a b "Timetable". Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  36. ^ Stewart, Kelsey (February 10, 2022). "Amazon Air launches daily cargo service at Omaha's Eppley Airfield". Omaha World-Herald.
  37. ^ "Fleets & Bases: USA/Canada/Mexico | Ameriflight Destination Services".
  38. ^ https://dhlpro.com/media/37004/dhl-express-usa-overview_en.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  39. ^ "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flightradar24.
  40. ^ "Routes".
  41. ^ "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flightradar24.
  42. ^ a b "RITA BTS Transtats - OMA". www.transtats.bts.gov. May 9, 2024.
  43. ^ "Omaha Airport Authority -". Omaha Airport Authority.
  44. ^ Accident description for TP-0203 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on January 23, 2019.
  45. ^ McLoon, Alex (April 28, 2024). "Eppley Airfield continues cleanup, open for business ahead of Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Meeting". KETV. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  46. ^ Funk, Josh; Hollingsworth, Heather; Beck, Margery A. (April 26, 2024). "Midwest tornadoes flatten homes in Nebraska suburbs and leave trails of damage in Iowa". AP News. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
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