DOT Impact Study Indicates Lincoln Airport Delivers $1.3B per Year to Local Economy
Results of a recent Department of Transportation (DOT) Aeronautics Division economic impact study indicates that the Lincoln Airport (LNK, lincolnairport.com) provides an overall impact of $1.3 billion per year on the local economy, including delivery of jobs and visitor spending. With commercial aviation hurting so intensely worldwide during the pandemic, the report indicates that, while a big part of LNK’s business is down, they are still making their mark on the economy via general aviation, military partners, and their industrial park, which are all thriving. LNK’s industrial park is one of the largest in the Midwest and is home to many local businesses that employ thousands of people in our community.
Statewide, Nebraska’s airports are a dynamic and integral part of our state’s economy. The Nebraska Aviation Economic Impact Study helped measure the benefits provided by the state’s airport system. The airports in Nebraska are important economic engines, helping to provide more than 90,000 jobs in the state, with an overall impact of $8.6 billion annually. Aviation activity can greatly influence economic growth and development, too, as Lincoln Airport contributes toward $43.4 million in visitor spending and nearly 15,000 annual visitors (not including residents), who fly in, stay at hotels, eat at restaurants, rent cars, and transact business.
Ideally located in Lancaster County, five miles northwest of downtown Lincoln, the Lincoln Airport is one of the 25 largest airports in the country in terms of land size. Geographically, it covers 5,500 acres and has three paved runways. The longest—measuring 12,901 feet—was once designated as an emergency-landing site for the Space Shuttle but was never used as such. Indeed, the airport has seen a world of change in its 100 years. For more information, visit lincolnairport.com. To view the impact study, go to lincolnairport.com/airport-improvements.