Opened as Okmulgee Field in 1942 as a United States Army Air Forces airfield. Originally had three 6'000 hard surfaced runways,. began training United States Army Air Corps cadets under contract to Sooner Air Training Corp. Assigned to Gulf Coast Training Center as a primary pilot training airfield. Hangar Six, Inc. conducted pilot training. Airfield had four local auxiliary airfields for emergency and overflow landings. Flying training used Fairchild PT-19s as the primary trainer. Also had several PT-17 Stearmans. Also provided contract glider training using C-47 Skytrains and Waco CG-4 unpowered Gliders. Inactivated on June 30, 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program. Declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on September 30, 1945. Eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration and became a civil airport. The airport had regularly-scheduled service from Central Airlines in the early 1950s; Central's timetable from June of 1950 shows the city as an intermediate stop between Tulsa and Holdenville, Oklahoma.
Facilities
The airport covers 1,100 acres at an elevation of 720 feet. Its one remaining runway, 18/36, is 5,150 by 100 feet concrete. In the year ending March 17, 2009 the airport had 12,410 general aviation operations, average 34 per day. 16 aircraft were then based at the airport: 94% single-engine and 6% multi-engine. In May 2015, the Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust and the Okmulgee City Council approved a contract to bring operation and management of the Okmulgee Regional Airport under TAIT’s umbrella effective July 1, 2015, while the city would continue to pay airport-related expenses. The one-year contract was intended to bring new clients and businesses to the airport while relieving pressure on the 750-acre TAIT-operated Jones-Riverside Airport, 20 minutes north, which has already expanded to capacity. The contract has since been extended. In 2016, TAIT drafted an Airport Capital Improvement Plan, also known as a Five-Year Plan, for Okmulgee Regional Airport, which was approved by the Okmulgee City Council on November 15, 2016. The document shows improvements and funding sources for fiscal years 2018 through 2022.
