Eppley Airfield
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox airport
Eppley Airfield Template:Airport codes, also known as Omaha Airport, is an airport in the midwestern United States, located Template:Convert northeast of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. On the west bank of the Missouri River in Douglas County, it is the busiest 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).
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.<ref>Nebraska v. Iowa, 406 U.S. 117 (1972).</ref>
History
Eppley Airfield began as an extension of Levi Carter Park near East Omaha in 1925. That year, the City of Omaha acquired Template:Convert of cleared land on the east side of Carter Lake. Almost immediately, planes started landing and taking off there.<ref>"A History of Omaha's Eppley Airfield", Adam Fletcher Sasse, NorthOmahaHistory.com. Retrieved December 16, 2022.</ref> 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.<ref>Leslie R Valentine, "Template:Usurped," Nebraska History 61 (1980): 400–420.</ref>
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.<ref>Eppley Grant of $1 Million Gives Omaha Jet Field - Lincoln Evening Journal, December 31, 1959</ref> 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.<ref>"Municipal airport new name 'Eppley Airfield'," Omaha World-Herald, January 13, 1960</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Concourse B opened in 1970,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was remodeled when Concourse A opened in 1986.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2024, Eppley Airfield set an all-time record with 5,277,326 passengers served.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Omaha Airport Authority
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} 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.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Over the course of 2024, Southwest Airlines, American, and Delta were the largest carriers and served 37.1, 20.6, and 17.5 percent of passengers, respectively.<ref name=Eppley/>
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
Eppley Airfield covers Template:Convert at an elevation of Template:Convert above sea level. The airfield has three runways: 14R/32L, 14L/32R, and 18/36.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} FAA data effective April 17, 2025.</ref>
Terminals
The South Terminal, including Concourse A, includes gates A1 through A10, baggage claims 1 and 2, and serves Alaska Airlines, 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 5 and 6, and serves Allegiant Air, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. Gate assignments: Allegiant Air (B11), Southwest (B16-B19), and United (B12-B15). Gate B20 has been removed due to construction related to the airport's BuildOMA Terminal Modernization Project.
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 106<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Passenger access is located directly outside the terminal.
Flight training
Eppley Airfield is home to the Nebraska Flight Center which was founded in 2003. The flight school operated at the North Omaha and Blair airports until the Nebraska Flight Center began operations at Eppley Airfield in 2014.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Currently, the flight school is based at the Signature Flight Support building on the general aviation side of the airfield and has a partnership program with Iowa Western Community College.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Expansion
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 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 were completed in August 2025; passenger pick-up and drop-off and lanes for buses, shuttles, and taxis will remain temporarily shifted to a portion of the first floor of the South parking garage for around another year to enable continuing construction on a new terminal entrance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Passenger security screening will be consolidated before the entrance to the new unified concourse so that passengers will not have to exit and go through security again to move between concourses as currently occurs. Concourses 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Template:Airport destination list
| Passenger destinations map |
|---|
| Template:Location map+ |
Cargo
Template:Airport destination list
Statistics
Top destinations
| CitationClass=web
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| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Template:Flagicon Denver, Colorado | 382,210 | Frontier, Southwest, United |
| 2 | Template:Flagicon Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois | 239,780 | American, United |
| 3 | Template:Flagicon Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona | 221,350 | American, Southwest |
| 4 | Template:Flagicon Atlanta, Georgia | 208,170 | Delta |
| 5 | Template:Flagicon Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | 181,450 | American |
| 6 | Template:Flagicon Chicago–Midway, Illinois | 155,030 | Southwest |
| 7 | Template:Flagicon Las Vegas, Nevada | 128,920 | Allegiant, Southwest |
| 8 | Template:Flagicon Charlotte, North Carolina | 118,110 | American |
| 9 | Template:Flagicon St. Louis, Missouri | 100,790 | Southwest |
| 10 | Template:Flagicon Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota | 91,940 | Delta |
Airline market share
Annual traffic
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 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.<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
- 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.<ref name="i016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The airport briefly closed to assess the damage, but reopened shortly afterward.<ref name="x958">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See also
Gallery
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Eppley on June 16, 2011 during the 2011 Missouri River floods -
Eppley Airfield and downtown Omaha -
Omaha Airport Police cruiser
References
External links
- Template:Official website
- Eppley Airport Guide on Omaha.net
- Aviation Photos from airliners.net
- Aviation Photos from jetphotos.net
- Template:FAA-diagram
- Template:FAA-procedures
Template:OmahaTransport Template:North Omaha Template:Authority control