North Platte Regional Airport

North Platte Regional Airport
Lee Bird Field
IATA: LBF – ICAO: KLBF – FAA LID: LBF
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner North Platte Airport Authority
Serves North Platte, Nebraska
Elevation AMSL 2,777 ft / 846 m
Coordinates 41°07′34″N 100°41′01″W / 41.12611°N 100.68361°WCoordinates: 41°07′34″N 100°41′01″W / 41.12611°N 100.68361°W
Website NorthPlatteAirport.com
Map
LBF

Location in Nebraska

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
12/30 8,001 2,439 Concrete
17/35 4,436 1,352 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft operations 37,814
Based aircraft 41

North Platte Regional Airport (IATA: LBF, ICAO: KLBF, FAA LID: LBF) (Lee Bird Field) is a public airport three miles east of North Platte, in Lincoln County, Nebraska.[1] It is owned by the North Platte Airport Authority[1] and sees one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the airport had 10,288 passenger enplanements in calendar year 2008,[2] 7,924 in 2009 and 8,391 in 2010.[3] The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport based on enplanements in 2008 (over 10,000)[4] but as non-primary commercial service based on enplanements in 2009 and 2010.

History

North Platte Regional Airport was originally North Platte Field and was built in 1921 with private funds. The original location was the east side of the North Platte River near the river bridge south of U.S. Highway 30. The first hangar and terminal buildings were built there. The airport was the site of the first night airmail flight, on February 22, 1921. The field was lit using burning fuel barrels and the plane landed at 7:48 p.m. and left for Omaha at 10:44 p.m. after repairs to the de Havilland 4.

In 1929 the City of North Platte bought the airfield and leased it to the Boeing Transport Company, an original part of United Airlines. More construction was done in 1941 and the site became the site of a B-17 training command. The same year the airport was renamed Lee Bird Field after Lee Bird, the son of a North Platte family, who was killed in 1918 while training as a pilot for World War I. The Airport Authority began operating the airport in July 1963 and the airport was renamed the North Platte Regional Airport Lee Bird Field in June 1992.

United Airlines stopped at North Platte from the 1930s until Frontier took over in 1959.

Facilities

The airport covers 1,544 acres (625 ha) at an elevation of 2,777 feet (846 m). It has two runways: 12/30 is 8,001 by 150 feet (2,439 x 46 m) concrete; 17/35 is 4,436 by 100 feet (1,352 x 30 m) asphalt.[1]

In 2009 the airport had 37,814 aircraft operations, average 103 per day: 66% general aviation, 17% airline, 15% air taxi, and 1% military. 41 aircraft were then based at this airport: 85% single-engine, 5% multi-engine, 7% jet, and 2% helicopter.[1]

Airline and destination

Airlines Destinations
Great Lakes Airlines Denver

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 FAA Airport Master Record for LBF (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  4. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.

Other sources

  • Essential Air Service documents (Docket OST-1999-5173) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
    • Order 2004-5-15 (May 20, 2004): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service with subsidy support at Grand Island, Kearney, McCook, North Platte, and Scottsbluff, Nebraska, for two years at a total annual subsidy of $5,233,287.
    • Order 2006-6-26 (June 21, 2006): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd.. to provide essential air service with subsidy support at Kearney, North Platte, and Scottsbluff, Nebraska, for two years, beginning when Mesa Air Group d/b/a Air Midwest inaugurates service at Grand Island and McCook, at a total annual subsidy of $2,393,305 ($897,142 for Kearney; $976,026 for North Platte; and $520,137 for Scottsbluff). Each community will receive three nonstop round trips to Denver each weekday and weekend (18 total round trips per week) with Beech 1900-D aircraft.
    • Order 2008-7-33 (July 29, 2008): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Kearney, North Platte, and Scottsbluff, Nebraska, for the two-year period beginning November 1, 2008, at a combined annual subsidy of $5,373,700 with 19-seat Beech 1900D aircraft.
    • Order 2010-9-10 (September 8, 2010): re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., operating as both a United Airlines and Frontier Airlines code share-partner (Great Lakes), to provide essential air service (EAS) at Kearney, North Platte, and Scottsbluff, Nebraska, for a combined annual subsidy of $5,344,690 for the two-year period from November 1, 2010 to October 31, 2012.

External links