Lincoln Airport (; formerly Lincoln Municipal Airport) is a joint public/military

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

northwest of downtown Lincoln, the

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital city, capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of ...

, in Lancaster County,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, United States. It is owned by the Lincoln Airport Authority and is the second-largest airport in Nebraska. It is included in 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)

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. With the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of September 3, 1982, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was required to develop a ...

for 2023–2027 in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. It has four gates with

jetway A jet bridge is an enclosed connector which most commonly extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane, and in some instances from a port to a boat or ship, allowing passengers to board and disembark without heading outside and being exp ...

s, to be, , expanded to six. The primary runway was a designated emergency landing site for the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

, although it was never used as such. The runway can handle

heavy Heavy may refer to: Measures * Heavy, a characterization of objects with substantial weight * Heavy, a wake turbulence category used by pilots and air traffic controllers to refer to aircraft with a maximum takeoff mass of 136,000 kgs or mo ...

military aircraft including the

C-5 Galaxy The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-rang ...

and the

Boeing E-4 The Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post (AACP), the current "Nightwatch" aircraft, is a series of strategic command and control military aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The E-4 series are specially modified from ...

. The airport is also the home of Lincoln Air National Guard Base, an installation for the

KC-135R Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

aircraft operated by the 155th Air Refueling Wing (155 ARW) of the

Nebraska Air National Guard The Nebraska Air National Guard (NE ANG) is the aerial militia of the Nebraska, State of Nebraska, United States, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Nebraska Army National Guard, an element ...

. Airliners on charter flights by visiting college athletic teams which play the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

also utilize Lincoln Airport as a primary destination, although many football teams fly into Omaha's Eppley Airfield, since they lodge in Omaha the night before a game due to lack of available hotel space in Lincoln, then depart from Lincoln immediately after the game. The airport is home to Duncan Aviation, a family-owned aircraft maintenance and refurbishing company. Duncan Aviation has hangars on the east side of the airport and parts storage on the west side. Lincoln Airport appeared in the 1983 movie ''

Terms of Endearment ''Terms of Endearment'' is a 1983 American family tragicomedy film directed, written, and produced by James L. Brooks, adapted from Larry McMurtry's 1975 novel. It stars Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff D ...

'', the 2008 film '' Yes Man'', and the 2013 animated film '' Planes''.

History

What would become Lincoln Airport began in the early 1920s when the city selected a plot of land Northwest of the city to be used as a municipal airport.

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

learned to fly at Lincoln Airfield in 1922. The airfield became an air mail stop in 1928 and became a

United Air Lines United Airlines, Inc. is a major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six continents with more destinations than any o ...

stop during 1927; United continues to serve Lincoln to this day through its regional partners. The Lincoln Airplane and Flying School was established in 1928 and operated at the airfield (which briefly was known as Lindbergh Field), before later moving to Union Airport a few miles east. In 1939, the Lincoln Airplane and Flying School was one of nine civilian contract flight schools contracted by the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

as Lincoln Army Air Field for basic flight training of air cadets under the 4500 pilot training expansion program. The school was operated by E. J. Sias. However, due to the short summer flying season, flight training in Lincoln was closed on 15 November 1940 and moved to Drane Field in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

where it reopened with new owners under the name "Lakeland School of Aeronautics" and continued Army contract pilot training. As part of the contract flying school, the Air Corps established the 47th Training Detachment to command the military flight cadets at the school, which apparently also moved to Lakeland along with the school. The school/base closed in December 1945 and the airport was transferred back to the City of Lincoln. Along with its civil use, Lincoln Airport became host to a flying unit of the newly formed

along with a Naval Reserve unit flying patrol aircraft. The 173rd Fighter Squadron became the host unit of what became known as Lincoln Air National Guard Base. Equipped with

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...

fighters in 1946, it was the second Air National Guard unit established. A few years later, F-80C Shooting Star jet fighters would replace the unit's F-51s until the advent of the Korean War. The

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

also established Naval Air Station Lincoln (NAS Lincoln) on the airport, primarily as home to Patrol Squadron 762 (VP-762) and its P-2 Neptune aircraft. In 1952, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

took over the airport as Lincoln Air Force Base, complicating civilian general and commercial aviation in the city. In 1959, the diagonal runway (14/32) was closed."Diagonal Runway Is Reopened," ''Lincoln Evening Journal'' (Lincoln, Nebraska), September 13, 1966 In late 1963, a new 4,000-foot runway (17/35) parallel to the main runway and associated facilities for general and commercial aviation were opened on the east side of the airport to reduce the number of non-military aircraft movements on the main runway. After operating as a

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

(SAC) base supporting

Boeing B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

bombers,

Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and developme ...

refueling aircraft (by 1954) and

SM-65 Atlas The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General ...

intercontinental ballistic missiles (by 1962), the Air Force finally closed the installation in 1966 and returned it to civilian hands. During the 1960s the two main airlines at Lincoln were

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 the original

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. ...

. Frontier Convair 580s flew nonstop and direct to Denver and Kansas City. United Douglas DC-6Bs flew nonstop to Denver, but nonstops to Chicago didn't start until 1967. Lincoln's first jet service began in 1966, with Frontier Boeing 727-100s operating between Denver and Kansas City via Lincoln. In 1956, runway 14/32 was reopened. United Boeing 727-100s and

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating ...

s began flying nonstop to Chicago and Denver about 1968; LNK later saw United 727-200s, 737-300s,

737-500 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300 ...

s and

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

s. Frontier later operated 737-200s. Other jet service was operated by America West with Boeing 737-200s and 737-300s nonstop to Phoenix and

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

( TWA)

DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell A ...

s nonstop to St. Louis. In 1983, Midway Airlines was operating Douglas DC-9-10 jets direct to Chicago Midway Airport via a stop in Omaha. By 1985, three airlines were operating jet service into the airport according to the

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the United States, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, ...

( OAG) including

Air Wisconsin Air Wisconsin Airlines is a charter airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin near Appleton, Wisconsin. The company began operations in 1965 and became a United Express feeder carrier on behalf of Unite ...

with

British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric, English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs, Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane ...

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (BAC-111, BAC 1-11) is a retired early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-seat airl ...

s nonstop from

Chicago O'Hare Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business district. The airport is operated by the ...

and

Grand Island, NE Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 53,131 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Nebraska, 4th most populous ...

, Frontier with Boeing 737-200s and

McDonnell Douglas MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

s nonstop from Denver and Omaha, and United with Boeing 727-100s and Boeing 737-200s nonstop from Chicago O'Hare, Denver,

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...

and Peoria, IL. The original Frontier Airlines ceased operations in 1986; successor

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

flew 737s and DC-9s to Denver. United mainline jet service was eventually replaced by flights operated by its

United Express United Express is a regional airline network that supports United Airlines operations, primarily by serving smaller cities and connecting traffic to United's main hubs. Representing six percent of United's total capacity for 2024, United Express ...

partners who now fly 50 seat regional jets from LNK. In 2005,

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...

flew to Memphis but dropped the route within nine months. In early 2006,

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 ...

began air service to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

but after two years, announced that it was transferring service to

. In May 2014

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

announced a non-stop flight to Atlanta would start September 8, resuming a service it briefly ran in 2009. In 2011 Delta resumed the Memphis service, but only over the summer. $750,000 in federal spending was used to guarantee revenue for Delta. Today part of Lincoln Airport is home to the Nebraska Air National Guard's 155th Air Refueling Wing (155 ARW), an

Air Mobility Command The Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri, ...

(AMC)-gained

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

unit flying the

. Several Nebraska

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

units are collocated at the installation, just east of Runway 36 alongside Taxiway Delta. The Air National Guard's tarmac is closed to general aviation and is guarded by Air Force Security Forces 24 hours a day. In 2022, Lincoln Airport announced a new airline called " Red Way," which is a virtual airline that outsources planes from GlobalX. But in September, Red Way shut down due to a lack of resources. Because the airline didn't save money of people's ticket expenditures in a bank account until the actual flights happened, the company was unable to pay refunds until 2024. State auditor Mike Foley has criticized the airline, calling it a "failed riverboat gamble." The Lincoln Airport terminal started a major renovation project dubbed "LNK Next" in 2022, which was completed in 2024. The terminal now has two new gates, bringing the total to six. There are also 2 new baggage claim belts and the customer service and vehicle rental desks have been relocated.

Facilities

Lincoln Airport 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 . It has three asphalt/concrete runways: 18/36 is 12,901 by 200 feet (3,932 x 61 m); 14/32 is 8,649 by 150 feet (2,636 x 46 m); and 17/35 is 5,800 by 100 feet (1,768 x 30 m). In the year ending March 31, 2021, the airport had 58,577 aircraft operations, averaging 160 per day: approximately 62%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

, 21% military, 13%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...

, and 5% airline. In March 2023, 174 aircraft were then based at this airport: 115 single-engine, 14 multi-engine, 22 military, 21 jet, and 2

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

Air National Guard

The current Lincoln Air National Guard Base is home to the

's 155th Air Refueling Wing (155 ARW), an

(AMC)-gained

unit flying the

. The 155 ARW is the nation's second oldest Air National Guard unit, being offered federal recognition on 26 July 1946 as the 173rd Fighter Squadron. It operates from a new facility built on the southeast side of the main runway. Several Nebraska Army National Guard units are also collocated at the installation, located just east of Runway 36, alongside Taxiway Delta. The Air National Guard's tarmac is closed to general aviation and is guarded by the 155th Security Forces Squadron (155 SFS), an Air Force Security Forces unit. Air National Guard and other military aircraft lands on the same runways as commercial or general aviation aircraft destined for their respective terminals, but their crews and passengers are never deplaned into the Lincoln Airport Terminal, with military aircraft taxiing directly to Air National Guard facilities. The base has also temporarily hosted aircraft and crews from the nearby 55th Wing at

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the ...

at times when Offutt's runway has been closed for repairs. The E-4B National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) aircraft have been based at the Air National Guard & SAC base three times: 2006, then 2019 during the Missouri flood and 2021-22 subsequent runway replacement.Air Force ‘doomsday’ planes moved to Lincoln airport during Offutt runway replacement

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

/ Air Force Times, 2021-03-14

SAC base remains

Lincoln Airport and the Air National Guard use new facilities on the east and southeast side of the former SAC airfield. Located to the west side of the airfield, some of the large SAC hangars still are used, while others have been razed. The B-47 parking ramp is unused, as well as the former B-47 alert pads (

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

), still in evidence along the northwest end of runway 14/32. There are pieces of concrete in the airfield area, disconnected from the runways and taxiways, which are remnants of the old wartime airfield from the 1940s. The former Lincoln AFB hangars and ground station are under the private ownership of numerous businesses and individuals, though the original fire station is still in use. The streets of the base still are in evidence, but many of the old military buildings have been torn down. The former military family housing area is now a part of the Arnold Heights Park community, and new housing has been built on the south side of the base.

Airline and destinations

Ground transportation

As of 2022, the local transit provider StarTran provides bus service to Lincoln Airport. The bus stop is located at the north end of the terminal loading/unloading area. Route 52 provides service to downtown, where transfers can be made, as well as providing direct service to the Highlands neighborhood northeast of the airport.

Statistics

Top destinations

Carrier shares

Accidents

On September 25, 1973, a

Learjet 25 The Learjet 25 is an American ten-seat (two crew and eight passengers), twin-engine, high-speed business jet aircraft manufactured by Learjet. It is a stretched version of the Learjet 24. Development The first Model 25 flew on August 12, 19 ...

operated by Lisa Jet crashed after takeoff bound for Eppley Field in low ceiling/fog conditions. All three occupants (two crew, one passenger) were killed. Inadequate preflight planning and poor crew coordination were the probable cause.

Notes

References

External links

Lincoln Airport
official site
The Lincoln Air Force Base Legacy Project
* * {{Lincoln, Nebraska Airports in Nebraska Buildings and structures in Lincoln, Nebraska Buildings and structures in Lancaster County, Nebraska Transportation in Lincoln, Nebraska History of Lincoln, Nebraska Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites