History
North Platte Regional Airport was originally called North Platte Field and was built in 1921 using private funds. The original location was on the east side of the North Platte River near the river bridge south of U.S. Highway 30. The first hangar and terminal buildings were constructed there. The airport was the site of the first night airmail flight which occurred on February 22, 1921. The field was lit using fuel burning barrels and the plane landed at 7:48 p.m. and then piloted onward toward Omaha at 10:44 p.m. after repairs were made to the de Havilland 4 aircraft.
In 1929, the City of North Platte purchased the airfield and leased it to the Boeing Transport Company, an original part of United Airlines. More construction was done in 1941 and the site became the site of a B-17 training command. The same year the airport was renamed Lee Bird Field after Lee Bird, the son of a North Platte family, who was killed in 1918 while training as a pilot for World War I. The Airport Authority began operating the airport in July 1963 and the airport was officially renamed the North Platte Regional Airport Lee Bird Field in June 1992.
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