Eppley Airfield

Eppley Airfield
Summary
Owner/Operator Omaha Airport Authority
Serves Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa
Location Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Elevation AMSL 984 ft / 300 m
Coordinates 41°18′04″N 95°53′43″W / 41.3012°N 95.8954°W / 41.3012; -95.8954
Website www.flyoma.com
Maps

FAA Airport diagram
OMA
Location of airport in Nebraska
OMA
OMA (the US)
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
Aircraft operations (2017) 96,460
Based aircraft (2018) 118
Total Passengers Served (2017) 4,611,906
Cargo handled (2017) 148,446,127 lbs.
Sources: FAA[1] and airport web site[2]

Eppley Airfield (IATA: OMA, ICAO: KOMA, FAA LID: OMA) is a medium hub, international airport three miles northeast of downtown Omaha, Nebraska, in Douglas County, Nebraska, United States. It is the largest airport in Nebraska, serving ten times more passengers than all other Nebraska airports combined.

The airport occupies 2,650 acres (1,070 ha)[1] and handles about 130 daily airline flights to 34 non-stop destinations with 8 airlines.[3] Eppley had its busiest year in 2017, serving 4.6 million passengers.[4]

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 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.[5]

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 $1.0 million was used to ready the then-Omaha Municipal Airport for jet aircraft in 1959-60.[6] 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.[7] The first jets to land in Omaha were United Airlines B720s in August 1960.

The terminal building, opened in 1961, was designed by James C. Buckley, Inc.[8] Concourse B opened in 1970[9] and was remodeled when Concourse A opened in 1986.[10]

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.[11]

During 2017, Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines were the first-, second-, and third-largest carriers and served 33.7 percent, 21.6 percent, 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.

Several films have used Eppley for a few scenes including the 2002 feature film About Schmidt which included scenes filmed inside and outside the terminal building, and the 2009 feature film Up in the Air which made use of the south end of the terminal building during filming.

Expansion

Parking garage

In April 2017, the Omaha Airport Authority began construction on an approximately $71 million, six-story parking garage and new suspended-above-ground rental car terminal building. The new garage is being built north of the existing six-story garage including a consolidated rental car facility between the new garage and existing terminal connected to both via a covered skywalk. The project is expected to be completed in 2019. The first phase will provide 2,200 parking stalls, with 850 designated for rental cars and 1,350 for public parking. While the existing rental car counters in the terminal are fully operational, the temporary rental car facility is located in the airport's "canopy lot." Shuttle service to the temporary rental car facility is provided by the Omaha Airport Authority. Access to the shuttle is located at a marked area in the temporary rental car facility and outside Door 3 of the main terminal.[12]

Airport

Construction and upgrades are planned for Eppley Airfield's facilities and infrastructure based on passenger growth milestones. An expansion to runway 18/36 will be added in order to enable larger aircraft to land, as well as an enlargement of taxiway A. Concourses A and B will be joined together by a long corridor, and expanded in the northern direction, adding 8 gates. This expansion will also consolidate passenger security screening. After expansion, there will be a total of 28 gates. On either side of the unified terminal, the ramp will be extended for overnight aircraft parking.

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. The airport also handles international cargo, charter, and private flights.

Location

The airport is northeast of downtown Omaha 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 the State of Iowa: the Missouri River formerly 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.[13]

Terminals

Central Terminal

The Central Terminal contains the ground transportation center and rental car counters.

South Terminal

The South Terminal and Concourse A include 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 Airlines (A6-A8, A10), Delta Air Lines (A2-A5), and Frontier Airlines (A1).

North Terminal

The North Terminal and Concourse B include gates B11 through B20, baggage claims 4 through 6, and services Air Canada Express, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. Gate assignments: Air Canada Express (B15), Southwest Airlines (B16-B18), United Airlines (B11-B14); gates B19-B20 are unassigned.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Air Canada Express Toronto–Pearson [14]
Alaska Airlines San Diego, Seattle/Tacoma
Seasonal: Portland (OR) 		[15]
Allegiant Air Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford, Phoenix/Mesa, Punta Gorda (FL) (begins November 14, 2018),[16] St. Petersburg/Clearwater [17]
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth, Phoenix–Sky Harbor [18]
American Eagle Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Philadelphia
Seasonal: Miami 		[18]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, Minneapolis/St. Paul
Seasonal: Detroit, Salt Lake City 		[19]
Delta Connection Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York–La Guardia, Salt Lake City, Washington–National [19]
Frontier Airlines Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando
Seasonal: Austin, Fort Myers, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Francisco 		[20][21][22][23]
Southwest Airlines Chicago–Midway, Dallas–Love, Denver, Houston–Hobby, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, St. Louis, Washington–National
Seasonal: Orlando, Tampa 		[24][25]
United Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Denver
Seasonal: Houston–Intercontinental 		[26]
United Express Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental, Newark, San Francisco [26]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Ameriflight Beatrice, Grand Island, Kearney, Norfolk
AirNet Express Des Moines
DHL Aviation Cincinnati, St. Louis
FedEx Express Grand Island, Indianapolis, Kearney, North Platte, Memphis
UPS Airlines Billings, Louisville, Reno/Tahoe

Statistics

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from OMA (July 2017 - June 2018)[4]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Denver, Colorado 313,000 Frontier, Southwest, United
2 Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois 230,000 American, United
3 Atlanta, Georgia 211,000 Delta
4 Chicago–Midway, Illinois 183,000 Southwest
5 Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 173,000 American, Southwest
6 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 152,000 American
7 Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 139,000 Delta
8 Las Vegas, Nevada 124,000 Allegiant, Frontier, Southwest
9 St. Louis, Missouri 108,000 Southwest
10 Houston–Intercontinental 70,000 United

Carrier shares

Carrier shares: (2017)[27]
Carrier Passengers (arriving and departing)
Southwest
1,556,069(33.7%)
Delta
998,005(21.6%)
United
860,290(18.7%)
American
853,661(18.5%)

Annual traffic

Annual passenger traffic (enplaned + deplaned) at OMA, 2002 through 2017[28]
2000's 2010's
Year Passengers Change Year Passengers Change
20104,287,428 Increase1.65%
20114,212,399 Decrease1.75%
20023,608,231 N/A 20124,127,344 Decrease2.02%
20033,667,190 Increase1.63%20134,042,333 Decrease2.06%
20043,868,217 Increase5.48%20144,119,730 Increase1.91%
20054,193,046 Increase8.4%20154,169,467 Increase1.21%
20064,229,856 Increase0.88%20164,349,486 Increase4.32%
20074,421,274 Increase4.53%20174,611,906 Increase6.03%
2008 4,370,137 Decrease1.16%
2009 4,217,718 Decrease3.49%

Ground transportation

Metro Transit Line 16[29] 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 central terminal.

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

  1. 1 2 FAA Airport Master Record for OMA (Form 5010 PDF), effective June 21, 2018
  2. 1 2 Eppley Airfield, official web site
  3. ↑ "Non-Stop Destinations". www.flyoma.com. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
  4. 1 2 "RITA BTS Transtats - OMA". www.transtats.bts.gov. September 29, 2018.
  5. ↑ Leslie R Valentine, "The Development of the Omaha Municipal Airfield, 1924–1930," Nebraska History 61 (1980): 400–420.
  6. ↑ Eppley Grant of $1 Million Gives Omaha Jet Field - Lincoln Evening Journal, 1959-12-31
  7. ↑ "Municipal airport new name 'Eppley Airfield'," Omaha World-Herald, January 13, 1960
  8. ↑ American Aviation. 24. 1960. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ↑ Mezzy, Dick (July 5, 1970). "Eppley Elevated Terminal Ready". Lincoln Star. p. 16. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Airport Authority of the City of Omaha, Airport Facilities Revenue Bonds" (PDF). www.fpr.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "Frontier Airlines and Midwest to fly under one name - Apr. 13, 2010".
  12. ↑ Omaha World-Herald. "Easing the Parking Crunch: 6-story, 2,200-stall Garage Coming to Eppley Airfield in 2017." Omaha.com. Omaha World-Herald, 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://www.omaha.com/money/easing-the-parking-crunch--story--stall-garage-coming/article_790a6390-b6d2-11e4-9734-039b1a169392.html>.
  13. ↑ Nebraska v. Iowa, 406 U.S. 117 (1972).
  14. ↑ "Flight Schedules". Air Canada.
  15. ↑ "Flight Timetable". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "Allegiant airline to offer service from Eppley Airfield to Fort Myers area". Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  17. ↑ "Allegiant Airlines Interactive Route Map". Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  18. 1 2 "Flight schedules and notifications". Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  19. 1 2 "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  20. ↑ "Frontier". Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  21. ↑ "Frontier Airlines S18 new routes as of 07MAR18". Routes Online. March 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  22. ↑ Star, Lincoln Journal. "Frontier adds flights to 3 cities from Omaha".
  23. ↑ "Press release" (PDF). phl.org.
  24. ↑ "Check Flight Schedules". Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  25. ↑ "Southwest will offer nonstop flight to Los Angeles year-round". omaha.com. 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  26. 1 2 "Timetable". Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  27. ↑ "Traffic Statistics - December 2017" (PDF). Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Omaha Airport Authority -". Omaha Airport Authority.
  29. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-13. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  30. ↑ "Braniff Airliner Hits Nebraska Bean Field". The Spokesman-Review. August 8, 1966. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
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