OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Parking the car at the airport can be a hassle, but what about a plane?
As shareholders fly in to town for the annual Bershire Hathaway meeting, Eppley and Millard airports have cleared space to valet incoming aircraft. Eppley Airfield expects around 103,000 passengers to fly in and out of the city this weekend.
"The commercial carriers are also bringing in extra flights and larger aircraft for this event as well," TAC Air general manager Mike Wilwerding said. "This is by far the busiest weekend of the year for Eppley."
The airport is going to be packed not only with travelers, but also parked planes. Fixed-base operators like TAC Air expect Eppley to shut down taxi lanes to make room for jets and other small planes.
"Historically, we've been seeing between 100 to 120 aircraft here Friday night overnight here," Wilderding said. "We work with other airfield tenants to use space in front of their hangars and basically every bit of concrete they can use to park a plane."
If things get too crowded, shareholders traveling from North and South America -- or even Europe -- could be landing across town.
Oracle Aviation's Dave Poole says Millard Airport is equipped to handle smaller aircraft.
"[Smaller] aircraft may get in the way at Eppley with all the congestion this weekend," Poole said. "It's great that we have this kind of relief field for passengers getting into town."
Planes landing at Millard don't have to notify the airport that they're landing here very far in advance. The facility predicts to have 20 to 35 airplanes parked in multiple hangars this weekend, totaling around 170 planes.
Poole mentions another popular event will immediately attract outbound Berkshire attendees.
"It's not uncommon that as soon as the meeting is over, we see people rushing back to the airport and try to get on board to make it to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby before the race ends," Poole said.
Eppley will be a busy place this weekend. If you're flying out of town Sunday or Monday, Eppley Airfield officials say you should get to the airport ahead of time to avoid any delays.
