Eppley Airfield , also known as Omaha Airport, is an airport in the

midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

United States, located northeast of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. On the west bank of the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

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 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

(FAA). It is owned and operated by the

Omaha Airport Authority The Omaha Airport Authority is the organization charged with management of Omaha Eppley Airfield and Millard Airport in Omaha, Nebraska. It is overseen by a five-person Board of Directors, members of which are appointed by the Mayor of Omaha. ...

(OAA).

Location

The airport is northeast of

east Omaha East Omaha is a geographically designated community located in Omaha, Nebraska. Located three miles (5 km) from downtown Omaha, East Omaha is the site of Eppley Airfield, Omaha's main airport, and Carter Lake. This area was Omaha's first ann ...

. Although the airport is in Nebraska on the west side of the

, it is surrounded on the east, west, and south by Iowa: the Missouri River formed an

oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or wikt:bullock, bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meand ...

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 In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

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 Carter Lake is a city in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. A suburb of Omaha, Nebraska, it sits surrounding the south and west sides of the region's major airport, Eppley Airfield. It is separated from the rest of Iowa by the Missour ...

History

Eppley Airfield began as an extension of

Levi Carter Park Levi Carter Park is located at 3100 Abbott Drive in East Omaha, Nebraska. It was named after one of Omaha's original industrialists, Levi Carter, who ran a white lead smelter in the area. History As recently as 1876, Levi Carter Park was the w ...

near

East Omaha East Omaha is a geographically designated community located in Omaha, Nebraska. Located three miles (5 km) from downtown Omaha, East Omaha is the site of Eppley Airfield, Omaha's main airport, and Carter Lake. This area was Omaha's first ann ...

in 1925. That year, the

City of Omaha Omaha ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 41st-most-populous city, Omaha had a popul ...

acquired 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 United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

and 19 by

Braniff International Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues to ...

. 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 720 The Boeing 720 is a retired American narrow-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Announced in July 1957 as a 707 derivative for shorter flights from shorter runways, the 720 first flew on November 23, 1959. Its type certificate ...

s 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. In 2024, Eppley Airfield set an all-time record with 5,277,326 passengers served.

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 Midwest Airlines (formerly Midwest Express Airlines) was an airline in the United States headquartered in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, that operated from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport between 1984 and 2010. For a short time, it also op ...

, then known as Midwest Express Airlines, operated a hub at Eppley Airfield from 1995 to 2002 with flights to

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Newark,

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

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, and Washington–Reagan; the airport remained a focus city with nonstop flights to Milwaukee and Washington–Reagan until the airline merged with

Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines, Inc. is a major American ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 120 destinations in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, and employs more than 5,000 staff. ...

in 2009. Over the course of 2024,

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, and

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

were the largest carriers and served 37.1, 20.6, and 17.5 percent of passengers, respectively. The airport has an on-site

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilita ...

facility that handles international, charter, and private flights. Eppley's first commercial, international flight began May 1, 2018, when

Air Canada Express Air Canada Express is a brand name of regional feeder flights for Air Canada that are subcontracted to other airlines. Presently, Jazz Aviation and PAL Airlines are the sole operators of Air Canada Express flights. They primarily connect smal ...

launched a daily flight to

Toronto Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...

; this service ended on October 4, 2019.

Facilities

Eppley Airfield covers at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The airfield has three runways: 14R/32L, 14L/32R, and 18/36.

Terminals

The South Terminal, including Concourse A, includes gates A1 through A10, baggage claims 1 through 3, and serves Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Frontier Airlines. Gate assignments:

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2024. Alaska, togethe ...

(A9),

(A6-A8, A10),

(A2-A5), and

Frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

(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 Allegiant Air is an American ultra low-cost carrier, ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The airline focuses on serving leisure traffic from small and medium-sized cities which it considers to be underserved, using an ult ...

(B15),

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

(B16-B19), and

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(B11-B14). Gate B20 has been removed due to construction related to the airport'
BuildOMA Terminal Modernization Project

Ground transportation

The airport is near four major highways:

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

, Interstate 480, Interstate 680, and

Interstate 29 Interstate 29 (I-29) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with I-35 and I-70, to the Canada–US border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba ...

. The airport has a consolidated rental car facility connected to the North Terminal. Metro Transit Line 106 provides limited weekday-only rush-hour service southbound toward downtown and northbound toward the North Omaha Transit Center.

Express Arrow Express, The Expresss or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid * The Ex ...

intercity buses to

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

stop at the terminal. Passenger access is located directly outside the terminal.

Expansion

In January 2016, Eppley Airfield completed expansion of its on-site

United States Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border guard, border ...

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. 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. 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.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Top destinations

Airline market share

Annual traffic

Accidents and incidents

*On December 6, 1978, a

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete ...

operated by the

Mexican Air Force The Mexican Air Force (FAM; ) is the air service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and as such overseen by the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). The objective of the FAM is to defend the integrity, in ...

, a military flight bound for

San Antonio International Airport San Antonio International Airport is an international airport in San Antonio, Texas, United States. It is in Uptown Central San Antonio, about north of Downtown. It has three runways and covers . Its elevation is above sea level. SAT averag ...

, 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. *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. The airport briefly closed to assess the damage, but reopened shortly afterward.

Gallery

File:Corp of Eng. 6-16-11A 210.jpg, Eppley on June 16, 2011 during the

2011 Missouri River floods The 2011 flooding event on the Missouri River in the United States was triggered by record snowfall in Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming along with near-record spring rainfall in central and eastern Montana. All six major dams along the ...

File:Omaha skyline 2010.jpg, Eppley Airfield and downtown Omaha File:Omaha Airport Police Cruiser.jpg, Omaha Airport Police cruiser

References

External links

*
Eppley Airport Guide
on Omaha.net
Aviation Photos
from airliners.net
Aviation Photos
from jetphotos.net * * {{Authority control Transportation in Omaha, Nebraska Landmarks in North Omaha, Nebraska Airports in Nebraska Buildings and structures in Omaha, Nebraska Airports established in 1925 1925 establishments in Nebraska