By David Morris
The “Nebraska Airport of the Year 2019” was proudly awarded to the Fremont Municipal Airport during the annual Nebraska Aviation Council Symposium banquet held in January. Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) Division of Aeronautics director Ann Richart welcomed Brian Newton, Fremont City Administrator, and Eric Johnson, Kirkham Michael Consulting Engineers, to the stage to accept the award on behalf of the City of Fremont.
Eric Johnson, Brian Newton, and Ann Richart. Photo/Jake Daniels
In March of 2019 Fremont experienced a flood event that closed all of the roads in and out of the community. It was during the flood that the airport became the only means of getting in and out of the community. Local pilots and organizations shuttled in supplies and essential community employees through the airport.
Along with this historic event, NDOT recognized the Fremont airport for other qualities as well – all which led to make it a candidate for Airport of the Year. The airport is the site of a “Fly-In” breakfast every year with the local Rotary Club providing a pancake breakfast. The Fremont Municipal Airport has also been the site of meetings which included Governor Pete Ricketts and Senator Deb Fischer.
In addition to the normal fuel and maintenance services being available at the airport you will find an office and workshop for the Civil Air Patrol. As a result of years of study and coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the NDOT Division of Aeronautics, a contract has been let for construction of a new apron in 2020 along with studies of architectural services to design a new Terminal Building in 2020/21.
Along with being an active part of the Fremont community, the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) routinely hosts school groups and tours at the airport. To help improve the efficiency of the airport, the agriculture land on the airport grounds are contracted out to local farming operations. Here at the NDOT Division of Aeronautics, we want to say “Congratulations” to the Fremont Municipal Airport for a job-well-done.
David Morris is the Aviation Division Flight Operations Manager for the NDOT.
