38 TERMINALS November | December 2026 AirportImprovement.com LBF Getting There The airport’s catchment area spans 15 counties within a 300-mile radius. North Platte acts as a de facto launch point for nearby travelers with Omaha, NE, and Denver each a four-hour drive away. “We’re pretty much dead-smack in the middle,” Gosnell explains of LBF’s remote setting. SkyWest Airlines, operating as United Express, runs a dozen LBF roundtrips per week, all to Denver International Airport (DEN) located approximately 260 highway miles to the southwest. So far, 2026 has been a banner year, including four consecutive months of record-breaking passenger numbers over the summertime. The carrier’s Essential Air Service contract runs through this year, though proposals for continued service in 2027 and beyond were due to the FAA in mid-July. Most LBF passengers are locals, but North Platte has developed into a golf destination that’s luring more out-of-state visitors. Summer is the peak travel season. Recent trends foster optimism that larger aircraft might soon serve LBF. Before Great Lakes Airlines shut down in 2018, it flew nine-seat Beechcraft 1900D turboprops to/from LBF, serving 2,000 to 4,000 passengers annually. Today, SkyWest uses larger capacity 50-seat CRJ200s. FAA data shows more than 30,000 passengers flew in and out of LBF in 2025. The new terminal, Gosnell believes, could lead to service from 76-seat Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft, or the like-sized Embraer E170 or E175. Beyond that, many area residents also hope for the return of casino charters like those that flew gamblers to Wendover, NV, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two sizable local developments further fuel optimism for air service growth. One is the Nebraska International Port of the Plains, a multimodal inland port expected to support 5,200 jobs and create $2.4 billion in annual economic output for Lincoln County upon its completion. (With close to 24,000 residents, North Platte is the Lincoln County seat.) The other significant development is a $400 million meatpacking plant that opened last March. It sources genetic Angus beef only from a tight 250-mile radius, employs 800 to 850 local workers and is expected to pump $1.2 billion into the region annually. Given the growth of well-paying jobs associated with these developments, planners project more locals will travel by air. Despite how or when that passenger demand materializes, new infrastructure has LBF at the ready. Among other contingencies, its new Oshkosh AeroTech passenger boarding bridge can also accommodate larger jets. Project leaders purposefully selected a size with future needs in mind. “The first step was to get a facility that would support (air service growth),” Gosnell explains. “Now, we’re going to circle the wagons and look for more destinations.” The new terminal also satisfies TSA’s previous concerns. A 6040 CTIX checkpoint computed tomography machine from Smiths Detection scans carry-on bags. Airport leaders are working with TSA to eventually replace the current hand screening of checked bags with a new Smiths CTX 5800 Explosives Detection System. They Remember the Tr. Not a Parking Hassle The busiest travel weeks of the year shouldn't be the most stressful for your garage. The Park Assist Solution keeps travelers moving and gives your team full visibility. Travelers park up to faster Recorded HD video, in and between spaces, gives a clear view of incidents With HD caeras and LPR on every space, lost tickets and lost cars are resolved in seconds, not hours tkhsecurity.com/US The new terminal allows the airport to serve regional jets with higher passenger capacities.
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