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Eppley Airfield
OMA Eppley Airfield Logo.png
The OMA logo, styled after the Dance of the Cranes statue situated on the airport grounds
Omaha-eppley.jpg
December 2006
Summary
Owner/Operator Omaha Airport Authority
Serves Eastern Nebraska
and Western Iowa
Location 4501 Abbott Drive Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Elevation AMSL 984 ft / 300 m
Coordinates 41°18′00″N 95°53′42″W / 41.30°N 95.895°W / 41.30; -95.895
Website flyoma.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
OMA is located in Nebraska
OMA
OMA
Location in Nebraska
OMA is located in the United States
OMA
OMA
Location in the United States
Runway
Runway 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 (2021)
Aircraft movements 93,860
Passengers 3,749,337
Air cargo (lbs) 149,598,341
Based aircraft 89
Sources: FAA and airport website

Eppley Airfield (IATA: OMAICAO: KOMAFAA LID: OMA) 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, and is classified as a medium hub airport by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It is owned and operated by the Omaha Airport Authority (OAA).

History

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. 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.

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. 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. 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. Concourse B opened in 1970, and was remodeled when Concourse A opened in 1986.

Omaha Airport Authority

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.

Hubs and operations

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.

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.

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.

Expansion

Terminal Modernization Program

The Omaha Airport Authority completed a comprehensive update to the Airport Master Plan for Eppley Airfield in October 2014. The Master Plan outlined a long-term approach for maintaining, improving and expanding the Airport facilities to keep up with passenger demand. Since the completion of the Master Plan, the Omaha Airport Authority has moved forward with projects from the Plan. These include the new North Garage and Rental Car Facility, which opened in the summer of 2019, and various airfield pavement replacements. The next major project will include a phased approach to the improvements of Eppley Airfield’s terminal facilities.

With the new North Garage and Rental Car Facility now complete, the Omaha Airport Authority is embarking on the next phase of the Master Plan – the Terminal Modernization Program (TMP). The TMP is a modernization, renovation and expansion of the existing terminal facilities. In March 2019, as the first step of this program, the Omaha Airport Authority contracted with a design-build team led by Holder Construction to plan, design and construct the program. In 2019, this team worked to update and validate the previous Master Plan concept in preparation for advancing the planning concept into design. This process resulted in an updated terminal concept that reflects the needs of today’s travelers while providing the flexibility to continue to grow and expand to accommodate up to 8 million annual passengers in the long term. Each step of the Terminal Modernization Program construction will be initiated systematically based upon passenger demand for the facilities.

Location

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.

Facilities

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

Terminals

The South Terminal, including Concourse A, includes gates A1 through A10, baggage claims 1 through 3, and serves Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air (ticket counter), American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Frontier Airlines. Gate assignments: Alaska Airlines (A9), 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 Allegiant Air (gate), Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. Gate assignments: Allegiant Air (B19), Southwest (B16-B18), and United (B11-B14). Gates B15 and B20 are not assigned.

Ground transportation

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 provides limited weekday-only rush-hour service southbound toward downtown and northbound toward the North Omaha Transit Center. Passenger access is located directly outside the terminal.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines Destinations Refs
Alaska Airlines Seattle/Tacoma


Allegiant Air Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford, Phoenix/Mesa, St. Petersburg/Clearwater


Seasonal: Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Los Angeles, Punta Gorda (FL) || align="center" |


American Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Phoenix–Sky Harbor
Seasonal: Charlotte


American Eagle Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York–LaGuardia
Seasonal: Miami


Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul


Delta Connection Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York–LaGuardia, Salt Lake City, Washington–National


Frontier Airlines Denver, Las Vegas
Seasonal: Fort Myers, Orlando


Southwest Airlines Atlanta, Chicago–Midway, Dallas–Love, Denver, Houston–Hobby, Las Vegas, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, St. Louis, Washington–National
Seasonal: Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, Tampa


United Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Denver
Seasonal: Houston–Intercontinental, San Francisco


United Express Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental, San Francisco (resumes June 24, 2022)
Passenger destinations map

Cargo

Airlines Destinations Refs
Amazon Air Fort Worth/Alliance


Ameriflight Broken Bow, Grand Island, Hastings, Norfolk, O'Neill


AirNet Express Des Moines


DHL Aviation Cincinnati


FedEx Express Denver, Grand Island, Indianapolis, Kearney, McCook, Memphis, North Platte


UPS Airlines Chicago–Rockford, Louisville, Phoenix–Sky Harbor

Statistics

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from OMA (January 2021 – December 2021)
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Colorado Denver, Colorado 281,000 Frontier, Southwest, United
2 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta, Georgia 202,000 Delta, Southwest
3 Arizona Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 172,000 American, Southwest
4 Illinois Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois 155,000 American, United
5 Texas Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 140,000 American
6 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada 116,000 Allegiant, Frontier, Southwest
7 Illinois Chicago–Midway, Illinois 107,000 Southwest
8 Minnesota Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 83,000 Delta
9 North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina 81,000 American
10 Texas Houston–Intercontinental, Texas 71,000 United

Carrier shares

Carrier shares (2021)
Carrier Passengers (arriving and departing)
Southwest
1,333,013(35.6%)
American
777,254(20.7%)
Delta
740,658(19.8%)
United
575,412(15.3%)
Allegiant
117,485(3.1%)
Frontier
101,568(2.7%)
Alaska
96,261(2.6%)

Annual traffic

Annual passenger traffic (enplaned and deplaned) at OMA, 2000–2020
2000s 2010s 2020s
Year Passengers Change Year Passengers Change Year Passengers Change
2000 3,814,440 0N/A0 2010 4,287,428 Increase01.65%0 2020 2,140,016 Decrease057.4%0
2001 3,653,521 Decrease04.21%0 2011 4,212,399 Decrease01.75%0 2021 3,749,337 Increase075.2%0
2002 3,608,231 Decrease01.23%0 2012 4,127,344 Decrease02.02%0
2003 3,667,190 Increase01.63%0 2013 4,042,333 Decrease02.06%0
2004 3,868,217 Increase05.48%0 2014 4,119,730 Increase01.91%0
2005 4,193,046 Increase08.40%0 2015 4,169,467 Increase01.21%0
2006 4,229,856 Increase00.88%0 2016 4,349,486 Increase04.32%0
2007 4,421,274 Increase04.53%0 2017 4,611,906 Increase06.03%0
2008 4,370,137 Decrease01.16%0 2018 5,043,194 Increase09.35%0
2009 4,217,718 Decrease03.49%0 2019 5,023,668 Decrease00.39%0

Gallery

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Aeropuerto Eppley para niños

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