Cozad Municipal Airport (CZD) – Nebraska's 100th Meridian Aviation
Cozad Municipal Airport (CZD) serves the town of Cozad in Dawson County, Nebraska, a community famous as the place where the 100th Meridian West intersects the Platte River valley—historically considered the dividing line between the humid East and the arid West of North America. This geographic distinction made Cozad a landmark for westward travelers on the Oregon Trail and later for I-80 motorists; it now serves as a conversation piece for pilots overflying this historic location in the Nebraska heartland. The airport supports Cozad's agricultural economy and provides access to a community that serves as a service hub for the western Dawson County region.
CZD operates as a general aviation airport with a paved runway and basic services including fuel availability. The airport serves aerial application aircraft operating over the surrounding irrigated cornfields and the ranching operations that begin to dominate the landscape west of the 100th Meridian as precipitation averages decline sharply. The Nebraska Department of Aeronautics includes Cozad Municipal in its state aviation system plan, and the airport participates in Nebraska's rural connectivity mission that ensures even small agricultural communities maintain public aviation access.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the significance of Cozad's location at the 100th Meridian?
The 100th Meridian West has historically marked the boundary between adequate rainfall for traditional farming and the drier conditions requiring irrigation or ranching in the American West. Cozad celebrates this geographic distinction with local markers.
What is the FAA identifier for Cozad Municipal Airport?
Cozad Municipal Airport uses the FAA identifier CZD, located in Dawson County along the I-80 corridor between Gothenburg to the east and Lexington to the west.
What fuel services are at CZD?
Cozad Municipal Airport provides 100LL avgas for general aviation operations, serving transient pilots on the I-80 corridor and local agricultural aviation operators.
What is the John J. Pershing marker near Cozad?
The Robert Henri Museum in Cozad commemorates the famous American artist born there in 1865, while the 100th Meridian Museum documents the region's pioneer and agricultural heritage that connects directly to the economic base served by CZD.
Cozad Municipal Airport - CZD Contact Information
Address, Phone Number, and Hours for an Airports in Cozad, Nebraska.
| Name | Cozad Municipal Airport - CZD |
| Address | 1304 Lincoln Highway, Cozad NE 69130 Map |
| Phone | (308) 784-3868 |
| Website | |
| Hours |
Map of Cozad Municipal Airport - CZD
Flying Through Nebraska's Geographic Heart: Cozad and the 100th Meridian
Cozad Municipal Airport (CZD) provides the aviation access that keeps western Dawson County connected to the state and national transportation network. The area around Cozad produces millions of bushels of corn annually, supported by center-pivot irrigation that draws from the Ogallala Aquifer beneath the Platte River valley. Agricultural aviation from CZD serves both the corn-farming operations to the east and the cattle ranching enterprises that increasingly dominate the landscape west of town toward North Platte.
Pilots using CZD as an I-80 corridor fuel stop will appreciate the airport's straightforward operation in the flat Platte valley terrain. Weather in the Cozad area can transition quickly during spring and fall—the same moisture that feeds the Great Plains' agricultural productivity also fuels the severe thunderstorm systems that pilots must carefully monitor when planning departures from central Nebraska airports. The National Weather Service office in Hastings provides the regional forecasts that Platte valley pilots rely on for safe operations across the Nebraska heartland.