Omaha Exploration

While Omaha had several landing strips by the early 20th century, it lacked an actual airport until 1925. Before deciding on a tract of land in East Omaha, the Greater Omaha Committee evaluated several sites for an airport. Among these were farmland near 168th Street and West Dodge Road which was removed from consideration due to a conflict of interest. Another site that was considered was a dairy farm on the northern end of Florence Boulevard before it was deemed too close to the bluffs. 

The committee recommended acquiring 160 acres of land north and east of Carter Lake for an air terminal that would be owned by the city. Despite objections from parks commissioner Joseph Hummel on the grounds that the land was too swampy as a result of regular flooding from the Missouri River, the city decided to move forward with this site. 

The city ended up purchasing land that was originally intended for an addition to Levi Carter Park for $192,000. Hummel proceeded to dredge silt from Carter Lake to fill in low spots on the landing field. This approach had the added benefit of deepening the lake. Planes immediately used the field for landing with the first occurring in October 1925.

Not everyone was thrilled with its use as an airfield and in 1927, a lawsuit was filed to prevent it from being used as such. The lawsuit failed and Boeing Air began using it for transcontinental air service. Initial reviews of the airfield were not good with one flight crew reporting that it was a rough, bumpy field that was covered with high grass and offered no accommodations – not even water. The negative publicity raised concerns that Boeing would move its mail air service to Lincoln. That prompted the formation of the Legion Airport Corporation which raised money for the necessary improvements. As a result, the airport was briefly called American Legion Field and even Omaha Legion Airport before being officially named Omaha Municipal Airport.

As a part of his three-month long, 22,350-mile tour of the United States, Charles Lindbergh landed in Omaha in front of 4,000 spectators. During that expedition, he visited 82 cities across all 48 states. In 1928 the rudimentary hangar was replaced with a permanent brick structure built by Boeing that held six planes. By that point, the airport with three runways and no terminal averaged four flights per day. To allow for nighttime flights, flood lights were finally installed in 1929. In 1931 cottonwood trees at Levi Carter Park had to be cut down as they were an obstruction for takeoffs and landings at the airport. Initially the Cornish family who donated the land for the park refused. The first terminal was built in 1932 and the first of several additions were completed three years later. 

Air traffic continued to increase throughout the 1930s when the federal government took over air traffic control. At that point medium-sized cities like Omaha became popular stopovers on flights from one coast to another. The Hayden House restaurant served meals to hungry passengers. Not only that but the restaurant had a reputation for being an excellent place to dine and many people went to the airport just to eat. The control tower and post office opened in 1948. 

Despite its continued growth, its location continued to be a problem due to the river’s propensity to flood. A large flood in 1943 inundated the airport with several feet of water and caused extensive damage. That resulted in the city building a series of dikes and flood walls that could handle a crest of 26.6 feet. The flood walls held up during a flood in April 1952 which caused the highest crest in Omaha history at 40 which put enormous pressure on the levees and dikes, thousands of volunteers 

By 1957 Omaha Municipal Airport handled 42 departures per day. It wasn’t until 1960 that the airport was renamed as Eppley Airfield – an honor bestowed upon Eugene C. Eppley of Akron, OH. On his way to becoming the owner of the largest privately owned hotel chain in the country, Eppley bought his first hotel at the age of 19. In addition to his hotel business, he was also a pilot known as “Daredevil Eppley” during his early days in Ohio where crowds would watch his mid-flight antics. That led to an involvement in airports. 

It wasn’t until after Eppley bought Hotel Fontenelle in 1920 that he moved to Omaha and lived in the hotel until his death in 1958. Two years prior he sold his hotel chain to Sheraton Hotels for $30M. The renowned philanthropist donated money to a number of educational, civic and medical research causes in Omaha. He also donated $1M from his estate to the Omaha Municipal Airport. The funds were ultimately matched by the federal government and allowed the construction of a new terminal in 1961 and the expansion of its runways to accommodate jet aircraft – just the 12th city to do so at the time. The old terminal was described as just about the worst in the country. By the time it was renamed Eppley Airfield, the Omaha Airport Authority was formed to be responsible for the operation of the airport. 

A major expansion of the terminal was completed in 1970 and a new control tower and the first parking garage were constructed in 1975. The airport continued to acquire land through the 1980s and in the process wiped out homes, schools and businesses essentially killing the area that was East Omaha. In 1986 it added a second terminal that included a cafeteria, cocktail lounge and gift shop. The $40M in improvements that caused the executive director to claim it would be state-of-the-art. This also allowed commercial passengers to board through a covered bridge rather than going outside to board.

In 2016 it expanded its on-site customers facility to provide greater customs services for international passengers. Its first international flight was to Toronto in 2018. While the daily flight ended in 2019, the airport continues to handle international cargo, charter and private flights. 

As of 2023, the 2,650 acre medium hub airport is the 61st busiest in the country ranking it between Albuquerque International and Memphis International Airports. It has three runways with its busiest routes being Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and Dallas/Fort Worth. Its most widely used airline is Southwest by a large margin.

2024 was its busiest year ever serving over 5.2M passengers which surpassed its previous high in 2018 prior to the pandemic. The largest airport in Nebraska, it handles more arrivals and departures than all other airports in the state combined. 

Extensive upgrades are currently underway to modernize the airport by changing the two terminals to a single unified concourse with a centralized TSA checkpoint. The number of gates will be expanded from 20 to 22 with two being capable of international flights with a new Customs and Border Protection international arrivals hall. It also includes an expanded baggage claim area, a new passenger drop-off lane with a canopy as well as improved ADA accessibility. Passengers will have new and expanded restaurant and retail concessions after they clear the security checkpoint. These include Runza, Block 16, Fernando’s, Panda Express, Pitch Pizzeria, Scooter’s, The Mill Coffee & Tea and Hollywood Candy among others. The entire expansion is expected to be completed by 2028.

 It may come as no surprise that residents have long taken issue with its airport being called an airfield as it conjures visions of a grass landing strip in the middle of nowhere. At one point, the City of Omaha even considered renaming it Eppley Airport however one of the members from the Omaha Airport Authority objected saying, “Why change the name just to conform with everybody else?” While the airport continues to be named Eppley Airfield, I suspect that it’s a matter of time before it finally catches up with the times and becomes Eppley Airport.

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