NORTH PLATTE – The North Platte Regional Airport is continuing to grow with recently breaking grown on a large aircraft storage hanger, the new terminal to open in August, and they have been seeing record boarding numbers.
Dan Phelps, Elected Board Member with the North Platte Airport Authority says the new 15,000-square-foot hanger that is being constructed is needed because of the increased private jet traffic they are seeing.
Phelps says the owners of these large, expensive jets will be able to house their jets in the new hanger to protect from severe weather that moves through central Nebraska while on their visit. Phelps says the hanger will be able to accommodate two or three smaller jets, or one very large jet, such as a Gulfstream 700 (which measures 56 feet in length, and seats up to 19 passengers).
The new hanger will also feature added parking spaces outside, as Phelps says, last year they experienced times where they almost ran out of parking spots for private jets.
The new hanger is expected to be done and operational by Spring of 2027. Phelps says construction will not interrupt day-to-day operations.
The airport reported that they are also seeing record boarding numbers this summer. Phelps gives a scope of what they saw during the month of May.
Phelps says one of the reasons for the spike in numbers is the airport went back to their early flight schedule, allowing fliers to catch the first bank of flights out of Denver. Phelps adds they are working with SkyWest and United to move the second flight to more of a midday time frame.
In addition to breaking ground on the new hanger and the record boarding numbers, the North Platte Regional Airport is only weeks away from their open house celebrating the opening of their new terminal.
The new terminal construction started two years ago, and Phelps says they received federal, state and local funding for the project.
Phelps says the first flight using the new terminal will fly out on August 12th, 2026.
