Eppley Airfield

Eppley Airfield (IATA: OMA, ICAO: KOMA, FAA LID: OMA) is an airport three miles northeast of downtown Omaha, in Douglas County, Nebraska, United States. It is the largest airport in Nebraska, serving ten times more passengers than all other Nebraska airports combined. It is owned and operated by the Omaha Airport Authority.

Eppley Airfield
OMA Logo
Airport Authority wordmark
Summary
Owner/OperatorOmaha Airport Authority
ServesEastern Nebraska and Western Iowa
LocationOmaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Elevation AMSL984 ft / 300 m
Coordinates41.3012°N 95.8954°W / 41.3012; -95.8954
Websitewww.flyoma.com
Maps

FAA Airport diagram
OMA
Location of airport in Nebraska
OMA
OMA (the United States)
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 (2019)
Aircraft movements98,571
Passengers5,023,668
Air Cargo (lbs)154,238,124
Based aircraft89
Sources: FAA[1] and airport web site[2]

The airport occupies 2,650 acres (1,070 ha)[1] and handles about 130 daily airline flights to 33 non-stop destinations with 7 airlines.[3] Eppley had its busiest year in 2018, serving over five 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 Boeing 720s 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. This service ended on October 4, 2019.

Expansion

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.[12]

Terminals

Central Terminal

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

South Terminal

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 Airlines (A6-A8, A10), Delta Air Lines (A2-A5), and Frontier Airlines (A1).

North Terminal

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 Airlines (B16-B18), and United Airlines (B11-B14). Gates B15 and B20 are not assigned.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Alaska Airlines Seattle/Tacoma
Seasonal: Portland (OR) 		[13][14]
Allegiant Air Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford, Phoenix/Mesa, St. Petersburg/Clearwater
Seasonal: Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Punta Gorda (FL) 		[15][16]
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Phoenix–Sky Harbor
Seasonal: Charlotte 		[17][18]
American Eagle Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Philadelphia
Seasonal: Miami 		[17]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul 		[19]
Delta Connection Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York–LaGuardia, Salt Lake City, Washington–National [19][20]
Frontier Airlines Denver, Las Vegas
Seasonal: Fort Myers, Orlando 		[16][21]
Southwest Airlines Atlanta (begins December 17, 2020),[22] Chicago–Midway, Dallas–Love, Denver, Houston–Hobby, Las Vegas, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, St. Louis, San Diego, Washington–National
Seasonal: Nashville, Orlando 		[16][23]
United Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Denver
Seasonal: Houston–Intercontinental, San Francisco 		[24]
United Express Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental, Newark, San Francisco [24]

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

Statistics

Top destinations
Busiest domestic routes from OMA (May 2019 - April 2020)[4]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Denver, Colorado 261,000 Frontier, Southwest, United
2 Chicago–O'Hare 217,000 American, United
3 Atlanta, Georgia 199,000 Delta
4 Chicago–Midway, Illinois 144,000 Southwest
5 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 138,000 American
6 Las Vegas, Nevada 129,000 Allegiant, Frontier, Southwest
7 Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 123,000 American, Southwest
8 Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 114,000 Delta
9 St. Louis, Missouri 91,000 Southwest
10 Houston–Intercontinental, Texas 69,000 United

Carrier shares
Carrier shares: (2018)[25]
Carrier Passengers (arriving and departing)
Southwest
1,692,116(33.6%)
Delta
1,025,149(20.3%)
American
905,571(18.0%)
United
893,049(17.7%)

Annual traffic
Annual passenger traffic (enplaned + deplaned) at OMA, 2000–2018[26]
2000s 2010s
Year Passengers Change Year Passengers Change
20003,814,440 0N/A0 20104,287,428 01.65%0
20013,653,521 04.21%0 20114,212,399 01.75%0
20023,608,231 01.23%0 20124,127,344 02.02%0
20033,667,190 01.63%020134,042,333 02.06%0
20043,868,217 05.48%020144,119,730 01.91%0
20054,193,046 08.4%020154,169,467 01.21%0
20064,229,856 00.88%020164,349,486 04.32%0
20074,421,274 04.53%020174,611,906 06.03%0
2008 4,370,137 01.16%020185,043,194 09.35%0
2009 4,217,718 03.49%020195,023,668 00.4%0

Ground transportation

Metro Transit Line 16[27] 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
  • 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 7 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.[28]
  • On January 18, 2019, a Boeing 737-800 operating as Southwest Airlines Flight 1643 from Las Vegas, Nevada carrying 150 passengers and 6 crew members slid off the runway during icy conditions. There were no reported injuries.[29]

See also
  • Eppley Airfield terminal in Omaha. The houses just beyond are in Carter Lake, Iowa (with Carter Lake visible to the right). The bluffs are in Omaha.
  • Eppley on June 16, 2011 during the 2011 Missouri River floods
  • Eppley Airfield and downtown Omaha
  • Omaha Airport Police Cruiser

References
  1. FAA Airport Master Record for OMA (Form 5010 PDF), effective June 21, 2018
  2. Eppley Airfield, official web site
  3. "Non-Stop Destinations". www.flyoma.com. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  4. "RITA BTS Transtats - OMA". www.transtats.bts.gov. July 29, 2020.
  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, December 31, 1959
  7. "Municipal airport new name 'Eppley Airfield'," Omaha World-Herald, January 13, 1960
  8. American Aviation. 24. 1960.
  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 March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  11. "Frontier Airlines and Midwest to fly under one name - Apr. 13, 2010". money.cnn.com. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  12. Nebraska v. Iowa, 406 U.S. 117 (1972).
  13. "Alaska Airlines West Coast network changes Sep 2019 – May 2020". Routes Online. September 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  14. "Flight Timetable". Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  15. "Allegiant Airlines Interactive Route Map". Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  16. https://www.flyoma.com/flight-information/non-stop-destinations/
  17. "Flight schedules and notifications". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  18. https://twitter.com/OMAairport/status/1228021065806381056
  19. "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  20. "Delta to launch Los Angeles-Omaha service in November 2019". news.delta.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  21. "Frontier". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  22. "Southwest Airlines Extends Published Flight Schedule Through Jan. 4, 2021". Southwest Airlines. May 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  23. "Check Flight Schedules". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  24. "Timetable". Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  25. "Traffic Statistics - December 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  26. "Omaha Airport Authority -". Omaha Airport Authority.
  27. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. Accident description for TP-0203 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on January 23, 2019.
  29. Oliver, David. "Omaha airport reopens after Southwest Airlines plane goes off runway". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
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