Dave Haring – Executive Director – Lincoln Airport was our speaker at Lincoln South Rotary Club on October 30. He brought along Rachel Barth the Lincoln Airport Communications and Customer Engagement Director.
Dave mentioned that many airports are adding Communications Directors and the Lincoln Airport had been considering it for quite some time. With things being so uncertain right now some wondered about adding the position now. But, as Dave state, there is no better time. There is a lot of uncertainty with the pandemic and with airlines changing their processes - it is important to have a person who can manage the communications.
Rachel started by providing some facts and statistics about the Lincoln Airport.
The Lincoln Airport is under the control of the Lincoln Airport Authority which is comprised of 5 elected Board Members. There are couple of seats coming up for election interested?
LNK is ranked 20th of all airports in land mass with over 5500 acres. It is much larger than Epply Airfield in Omaha and slightly larger than JFK in New York. The largest airport as far as land mass is Denver at 33,531 acres. Second is Dallas-Fort Worth at 18,076 acres.
The Lincoln Airport employs about 80 people with a little influx in the summer months. They have a large operations staff that takes care of the 25 miles of road and 500 acres of pavement.
The terminal has 3 runways and can handle nearly any aircraft.
There are four areas of business handled out of the Lincoln Airport.
Commercial Airlines - United, Delta (which has temporarily suspended their flights due to a DOT requirement)
General Aviation - Duncan, Silverhawk, Hillaero and Performance Aircraft
Military - Nebraska Air National Guard, Nebraska Army National Guard, and a temporary home for Offutt Air Force Base
LNK Enterprise Park - Zoned Industrial and houses a number of companies
The number of passengers boarding planes in the past few years has varied. Total passengers in 2019 was 328,768. Unfortunately with the pandemic 2020 is much lower - year to date at 86,610.
The economic impact of having the airport in Lincoln has been thoroughly studied and analyzed. If anyone wants a copy of the report, we can contact Rachel. But, what we need to know is, there is a $1.3billion annual impact to the Lincoln economy.
Dave then took us through the airport modernization activities. He said that there were three identical airport terminals built in 1974. Lincoln, Duluth, Minnesota and Bozeman, Montana. The Duluth facility was torn down for a new building. In Bozeman, they kept the building but encompassed it with expansions and improvements. We are behind - and the modernization is due.
Dave said that there has been talk about modernizing for decades - but earnest efforts have been in place for the past few years. There are a number of changes that will be made with the first phase, and some that will be done later.
TSA security points - it was obvious that the terminal needed to be designed to allow for a single TSA security point instead of the two that are there today - at opposite ends of the gate level. TSA will provide for security points based on the number of passengers, not the number of flights. It is believed that at some point they will say "pick a side" and only staff one check point. Putting all flights through the gates on one end of the airport will not be in the best interest of the clients.
Check-in areas are currently spread through the first floor. The new plan will allow for check-in to be in one area and be more efficient. The plan includes consolidating the arrival and departure areas for all carriers allowing for better service to travelers.
The current food and beverage service is in the wrong place - it is before the security check in. The new plan will have the food and beverage after security check in. That will allow flyers to get through security and then relax with food and drink before their flight departs.
In total, there will be 6 gates which will set us up to serve more clients and airlines in the future.
For more information: https://lincolnairport.com/airport-improvements/
An Accredited Airport Executive with almost 20 years of experience in the aviation industry, David Haring currently serves at the Executive Director of the Lincoln Airport in Lincoln, NE. In this capacity, he is responsible for the development and enforcement of all plans, policies, and programs governing the overall operation, maintenance, security and physical plant of the Airport.
Following his graduation from the University of North Dakota, David started his airport career as an intern at Jerry Olson Field in Cheyenne, WY and held in a variety positions over his 13 years there, most recently serving as its Director of Aviation from 2007 – 2014. As Director, David was responsible for all facets of the operation of the both the Cheyenne Regional Airport and the Airport owned FBO, Legend Aero Serve.
With a passion for leadership and a desire to serve as a resource for future generations, David has spent almost all of his career involved in academic relations at a variety of levels. He is a member of the Academic Relations Committee (AAAE), was the American Chair Co-Chair of the Scholarship/Internship Committee (NWAAAE), is the Academic Relations and Membership Committee Chair (GLAAAE) and has served or is serving as a Liaison for multiple student chapters of AAAE. Additionally, David serves on the Board of Directors for Leadership Lincoln, Inc. where he is also a member of the Youth Program Planning Committee.
Born in Ohio, though he considers himself to be a native of State College, PA, David and his wife, Jen, reside in Lincoln with their two boys.