Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport is two miles west of

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, in

Seward County, Kansas Seward County (standard abbreviation: SW) is a county of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 21,964. The largest city and county seat is Liberal. The county was formed on March 20, 1873 and named after Wi ...

. It is used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

and is subsidized by the

Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintained commercial service. Its aim is t ...

program. Formerly Liberal Municipal Airport, it hosts the

Mid-America Air Museum The Mid-America Air Museum is an aerospace and aircraft museum located in Liberal, Kansas, United States. The Mid-America Air Museum is the largest aircraft museum in Kansas. It has on display over 100 aircraft (both within the museum's primary ...

. The

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

says this airport had 7,911 passenger boardings (enplanements) in

calendar year Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any o ...

2008, 6,255 in 2009 and 7,156 in 2010. The

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''non-primary commercial service'' airport.

History

During World War II, the facility was Liberal Army Airfield and was used for

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

training from 1943 to 1945. New multi-engine graduates were shipped to Liberal to transition to the Liberator, then sent to 1st Phase bases to join a crew for combat training. Before April 1944, Liberal was home to a Twin Engine Flying Training Group with four squadrons (60, 63, 1029, 1030), the 527th Base Hq & Air Base Sq, 324th Sub Depot, 444th (later 744th) AAF Band, and 396th Aviation Sq. These units later merged into the 2425th AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Specialized, Four Engine). Airline flights (on Central Airlines DC-3s) began in 1956; successor Frontier Airlines left in 1981.

Facilities

The airport covers 2,005

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s (811 ha) at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of 2,885 feet (879 m). It has two concrete runways: 4/22 is 5,721 by 150 feet (1,744 x 46 m) and 17/35 is 7,105 by 100 feet (2,166 x 30 m). In 2010, the airport had 38,300 aircraft operations, an average of 104 per day: 91%

, 5% airline, 3%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

, and 1% military. 54 aircraft were then based at this airport: 68% single-engine, 24% multi-engine, 6% jet and 2%

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

. The

is located on the airport.

Airline and destination

Statistics

References

Other sources

* Essential Air Service documents
Docket DOT-OST-1998-3498
from the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

: *
Order 2009-9-5 (September 11, 2009)
re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service (EAS) at Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend, Hays, and Liberal for the two-year period from October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2011, at combined annual subsidy rates of $8,897,565. ''Liberal, Kansas: Docket OST-1998-3498. Effective Period: October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2011. Scheduled Service: 18 nonstop round trips per week to Denver. Aircraft:

Beech 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With c ...

, 19 seats.'' *
Order 2011-10-24 (October 31, 2011)
re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service (EAS) at Liberal for $2,555,150 annual subsidy. Effective Period: Two year period beginning when American Eagle begins full EAS (at Garden City) through the 24th month thereafter. Liberal: 18 nonstop round trips per week to Denver with

aircraft. *
Order 2014-3-9 (March 14, 2014)
re-selects Great Lakes Airlines at Dodge City and Liberal, Kansas. ''Liberal, Kansas: Docket 1998-3498; Effective Period: May 1, 2014, through July 31, 2016; Service: Eighteen (18) nonstop round trips per week to Denver (DEN); Aircraft Type:

; Annual Subsidy: $2,236,180.''

External links

*
Lyddon Aero Center
the

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

(FBO) * from

Kansas DOT The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is a state government organization in charge of maintaining public roadways of the U.S. state of Kansas. Funding issues Since 2012, over $2 billion has been diverted from its coffers to the Kansas ...

Airport Directory
Aerial image as of September 1991
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to prov ...

'' * * {{authority control Airports in Kansas Buildings and structures in Seward County, Kansas Essential Air Service Airports established in 1942 1942 establishments in Kansas Liberal, Kansas