Kearney Regional Airport (IATA: EAR, ICAO: KEAR, FAA LID: EAR) (formerly Kearney Municipal Airport) is an airport five miles northeast of Kearney in Buffalo County, Nebraska.[1] SkyWest Airlines provides scheduled passenger service to Denver marketed as United Express and supported by the Essential Air Service.

Kearney Regional Airport
USGS 1999 orthophoto
IATA: EAR ICAO: KEAR FAA LID: EAR
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	City of Kearney
Serves	Kearney, Nebraska
Location	Center Township, Buffalo County, Nebraska
Elevation AMSL	2,131 ft / 650 m
Coordinates	40°43′37″N 099°00′24″W
Website	www.FlyKearney.com
Map
EAR Show map of Nebraska EAR Show map of the United States
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 18/36 7,094 2,162 Concrete 13/31 4,498 1,371 Concrete
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations 30,040 Based aircraft 29
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 11,956 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[2] 10,113 in 2009 and 9,530 in 2010.[3] The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport based on enplanements over 10,000 in 2008,[4] but is non-primary commercial service based on enplanements in 2010.

History

In 1940 Kearney had a population of 9,643. In the early 1940s, three Nebraska cities, Kearney, Grand Island and Hastings joined to form the Central Nebraska Defense Council when it was learned that the United States Army Air Forces was considering the site for a military airfield. The group attempted to convince Washington that central Nebraska was suitable. Kearney and Grand Island effectively competed as locations for defense airports which would serve as storage for aircraft made at Offutt Field and the Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant near Omaha.

As early as 1941 the City of Kearney voted on a $60,000 bond to finance a new airport. Kearney Regional Airport began as Keens Municipal Airport. The cost was more than $360,000, with the balance funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Construction began at the site on Highway 30 on October 21, 1941, and was dedicated as Keens Airport on August 23, 1942, with asphalt runways and one hangar. A handful of buildings from the military era remain at Kearney Airport, notably Hangar #385.

The first airline flights were Mid-West Cessna 190s in 1950–52, then Frontier DC-3s appeared in 1959. Frontier's Convairs lasted until 1979.

Facilities

Kearney Regional Airport covers 2,500 acres (1,012 ha) at an elevation of 2,131 feet (650 m). It has two runways: 18/36 is 7,094 by 100 feet (2,162 x 30 m) concrete; 13/31 is 4,498 by 75 feet (1,371 x 23 m) concrete.[1]

In the year ending September 30, 2011 the airport had 30,040 aircraft operations, average 82 per day: 93% general aviation, 5% airline, and 2% air taxi. 29 aircraft were then based at the airport: 83% single-engine, 14% multi-engine, and 3% helicopter.[1]

Airline and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

See also

• List of airports in Nebraska

References

Other sources

External links

• www.FlyKearney.com
• Kearney AAF Historical Website
• Aerial image as of April 1999 from USGS The National Map
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective November 3, 2022
• FAA Terminal Procedures for EAR, effective November 3, 2022
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for EAR
  • AirNav airport information for KEAR
  • ASN accident history for EAR
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures