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 7:48p.m. and left for Omaha at 10:44p.m. after repairs to the de Havilland4.[7]
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.[citation needed]
United Airlines stopped at North Platte from the 1930s until Frontier took over in 1959; Frontier's 737s left in 1984.
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.[2]
In the year ending December 31, 2018 the airport had 28,300 aircraft operations, average 77 per day: 82% general aviation, 12% air taxi, 5% airline, and 2% military. In April 2020, there were 42 aircraft based at this airport: 38 single-engine, 2 multi-engine, 1 jet, and 1 helicopter.[2]
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.
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