Lincoln Airport (Nebraska)

For the military use of the airport, see Lincoln Air National Guard Base.
Lincoln Airport
IATA: LNK – ICAO: KLNK – FAA LID: LNK
Summary
Airport type Public / military
Owner City of Lincoln
Operator Lincoln Airport Authority
Serves Southeastern and central Nebraska
Location Lincoln, Nebraska
Elevation AMSL 1,219 ft / 372 m
Coordinates 40°51′04″N 096°45′33″W / 40.85111°N 96.75917°W
Website www.lincolnairport.com
Maps

FAA airport diagram
LNK

Location in Nebraska

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
18/36 12,901 3,932 Asphalt/concrete
14/32 8,649 2,636 Asphalt/concrete
17/35 5,800 1,768 Asphalt/concrete
Statistics (2014)
Aircraft operations 60,641[lower-alpha 1]
Based aircraft 209

Lincoln Airport (IATA: LNK, ICAO: KLNK, FAA LID: LNK) (formerly Lincoln Municipal Airport) is a public/military airport five miles northwest of downtown Lincoln, the state capital, in Lancaster County, Nebraska. It is owned by the Lincoln Airport Authority[1] and is the second-largest airport in Nebraska.

The 12,901 foot primary runway was an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle, though it never used it. The runway can handle large airliners on charter flights by visiting college football teams which play the Nebraska Cornhuskers. 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 2013 Walt Disney Pictures movie - Planes.

History

Lincoln Air Force Base sign
(apx. 1960)

During World War II the airfield was Lincoln Army Air Field and used for mechanics and flight-crew training. It closed in December 1945 and was transferred back to the City of Lincoln.

In 1952 the facility re-opened as Lincoln Air Force Base. After operating as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base supporting Boeing B-47 Stratojet bombers, Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter refueling aircraft and SM-65 Atlas intercontinental ballistic missiles, the United States Air Force closed the installation in 1966.

During the 1960s the two main airlines at Lincoln were United Airlines and the original Frontier Airlines (1950-1986). 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 jets were in 1966, Frontier Boeing 727-100s MKC-LNK-DEN and back.

United Boeing 727-100s and Boeing 737-200s began flying nonstop to Chicago and Denver about 1968; LNK later saw United 727-200s, 737-300s and 737-500s, and Frontier 737-200s.

Other jet airlines included America West with Boeing 737-200s and 737-300s nonstop to Phoenix and Trans World Airlines DC-9s nonstop to St. Louis. The original Frontier Airlines ceased operations in 1986; successor Continental flew 737s and DC-9s to Denver. United eventually was replaced by its United Express partners who now fly 50 seat regional jets from LNK.

In 2005, Northwest Airlines flew to Memphis but dropped the route within nine months. In early 2006, Allegiant Air began air service to Las Vegas but after two years, announced that it was transferring service to Grand Island, NE.[2] In May 2014 Delta Air Lines 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.[3] The new flight will be a Delta Connection Canadair CRJ700, with $750,000 in federal spending 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 (AMC)-gained Air National Guard unit flying the KC-135R Stratotanker. Several Nebraska Army National Guard 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.

Facilities

Lincoln Airport covers 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) at an elevation of 1,219 feet (372 m). 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).[1]

In the year ending March 31, 2014 the airport had 60,641 aircraft operations, average 166 per day: 67% general aviation, 14% airline, 12% air taxi and 7% military. 209 aircraft were then based at this airport: 56% single-engine, approximately 25% multi-engine, 11% military, 6% jet and 2% helicopter.[1]

Airlines

Endeavor Air operating as Delta Connection operates Canadair CRJ-200 regional jet flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) on behalf of Delta Air Lines.

ExpressJet operating as United Express operates Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet flights to Chicago (ORD) and Denver (DEN) on behalf of United Airlines; ExpressJet operating as Delta Connection operates Canadair CRJ-900 regional jet flights to Atlanta (ATL) on behalf of Delta Airlines.

SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express operates Canadair CRJ-200 regional jet flights to Denver (DEN) on behalf of United Airlines.

Airline destinations

Airlines Destinations
Delta Connection Atlanta, Minneapolis/St. Paul
United Express Chicago-O'Hare, Denver

Top domestic destinations

Busiest domestic routes from LNK (Feb 2014 – Jan 2015)[4]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1 Chicago (O'Hare), Illinois 51,000 United Express
2 Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 40,000 Delta Connection
3 Denver, Colorado 37,000 United Express
4 Atlanta, Georgia[lower-alpha 2] 8,000 Delta Connection

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Total operations for the 12 month period ending 31 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Service effective as of 3 September 2014.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 FAA Airport Master Record for LNK (Form 5010 PDF), effective 05 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Allegiant dropping Lincoln flights to Las Vegas". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Olberding, Matt (May 19, 2014). "Delta adds flight to Lincoln airport". Business. Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Lincoln Airport (LNK) Summary Statistics". U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Lincoln flight to Atlanta is back Wednesday". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 25 April 2015.

External links