McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport

McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport (IATA: MCK, ICAO: KMCK, FAA LID: MCK) is two miles east of McCook, in Red Willow County, Nebraska.^[1] It was formerly McCook Municipal Airport and McCook Regional Airport. It sees one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport
IATA: MCK ICAO: KMCK FAA LID: MCK
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	City of McCook
Serves	McCook, Nebraska
Elevation AMSL	2,583 ft / 787 m
Coordinates	40°12′23″N 100°35′32″W
Website	MCK Website
Map
MCK Show map of Nebraska MCK Show map of the United States
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 12/30 6,450 1,966 Concrete 4/22 4,000 1,219 Concrete 17/35 1,350 411 Turf
Statistics
Aircraft operations (2019) 16,700 Based aircraft (2022) 31
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025 called it a general aviation airport (the commercial service category requires 2,500 enplanements per year).

The airport is named after McCook-born Ben Nelson, a United States Senator and the 37th Governor of Nebraska.

History

During World War II, a larger training airfield was built eight miles north of McCook Regional to train heavy bomber crews. Known, somewhat confusingly, as McCook Army Airfield the base closed in 1945 and was transferred to state control and McCook State Airfield was renamed. It closed for good in 1969 and has largely reverted to farmland, but the five massive World War II-era hangars are still visible from the air.

Facilities

The airport covers 667 acres (270 ha) at an elevation of 2,583 feet (787 m) above mean sea level. It has three runways: 12/30 is 6,450 by 100 feet (1,966 x 30 m) concrete; 4/22 is 4,000 by 75 feet (1,219 x 23 m) concrete; 17/35 is 1,350 by 160 feet (411 x 49 m) turf.^[1]

In the year ending March 31, 2019, the airport had 16,700 aircraft operations, an average of 46 per day: 90% general aviation, 9% air taxi and 1% military. In March 2022, there were 31 aircraft based at this airport: 28 single-engine and 3 multi-engine.^[1]

Airline and destination

Scheduled passenger service:

Airlines	Destinations
Denver Air Connection	Denver[2]

Former airlines

First airline flights were Mid-West Airlines Cessna 190s in 1950–51. Frontier DC-3s arrived in 1959, and its last Convair 580 left in 1979.

Air Midwest (U.S. Airways Express) began service on October 29, 2006, with two daily flights to Grand Island and on to Omaha Eppley Airfield and Kansas City International Airport.^[3][4]

See also

• List of airports in Nebraska