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.[2] It is owned by the North Platte Airport Authority[2] and sees one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.[3]

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
Website	NorthPlatteAirport.com
Maps
FAA Airport Diagram
LBF Show map of Nebraska LBF Show map of the United States
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 12/30 8,001 2,439 Concrete 17/35 4,436 1,352 Asphalt
Statistics (2020)
Passengers 32,000 Aircraft operations 28,300 Based aircraft 42
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics,[1] Federal Aviation Administration[2]

The Federal Aviation Administration says the airport had 10,288 passenger enplanements in calendar year 2008,[4] 7,924 in 2009 and 8,391 in 2010.[5] It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a regional primary commercial service facility.[6]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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]

Airline and destination

This section does not cite any sources. (January 2022)

Destinations map
North Platte Denver Destinations from North Platte Regional Airport

References

Other sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to North Platte Regional Airport.

• North Platte Regional Airport - Lee Bird Field, official site
• Aerial photo as of April 1999 from USGS The National Map
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective September 8, 2022
• FAA Terminal Procedures for LBF, effective September 8, 2022
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for LBF
  • AirNav airport information for KLBF
  • ASN accident history for LBF
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures