Narrative:

Aircraft X contacted lnk tower; 118.5 when 25 miles west of lnk wanting to go to sda. I was working all the frequencies and had numerous aircraft calling on clearance and ground. I assumed that the aircraft was trying to get a clearance to depart lnk to sda. After several transmissions I figured out that aircraft X was not on the ground at lnk and needed to contact R90; 'omaha approach' to transition through the lnk area airspace. I was also working complex traffic with two H/K35R in the VFR pattern on the west side of the airport; and multiple VFR aircraft departing on the east side of the airport; most also wanting to fly westbound. When aircraft X called he caused additional frequency congestion and created a frustrating and an unsafe situation since he was flying in another controller's airspace on the incorrect frequency. The pilot may have been confused due to the name change of the airspace.pilots are confused when transitioning through the lnk area airspace on who to contact for clearance. Several months ago the airspace changed names from 'lincoln approach/departure' to 'omaha approach/departure'. I think that pilots assume that since they are flying near lincoln they need to contact us and not approach since they are not flying in omaha area; which is 60 miles northeast of lnk. The name for the lnk sector for approach needs to be changed back to 'lincoln approach/departure' to decrease pilot confusion and increase safety in this airspace. Having the pilot contact tower also increases the workload on the tower controller; which can become a safety concern when there is already busy traffic.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: LNK Local Controller reports of aircraft calling Tower; causing frequency congestion and confusion. Aircraft should have been on Approach Control frequency which name had previously changed from Lincoln to Omaha Approach.

Narrative: Aircraft X contacted LNK Tower; 118.5 when 25 miles west of LNK wanting to go to SDA. I was working all the frequencies and had numerous aircraft calling on Clearance and Ground. I assumed that the aircraft was trying to get a clearance to depart LNK to SDA. After several transmissions I figured out that Aircraft X was not on the ground at LNK and needed to contact R90; 'Omaha Approach' to transition through the LNK area airspace. I was also working complex traffic with two H/K35R in the VFR pattern on the west side of the airport; and multiple VFR aircraft departing on the east side of the airport; most also wanting to fly westbound. When Aircraft X called he caused additional frequency congestion and created a frustrating and an unsafe situation since he was flying in another controller's airspace on the incorrect frequency. The pilot may have been confused due to the name change of the airspace.Pilots are confused when transitioning through the LNK area airspace on who to contact for clearance. Several months ago the airspace changed names from 'Lincoln Approach/Departure' to 'Omaha Approach/Departure'. I think that pilots assume that since they are flying near Lincoln they need to contact us and not approach since they are not flying in Omaha area; which is 60 miles NE of LNK. The name for the LNK sector for approach needs to be changed back to 'Lincoln Approach/Departure' to decrease pilot confusion and increase safety in this airspace. Having the pilot contact Tower also increases the workload on the Tower Controller; which can become a safety concern when there is already busy traffic.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.