Ketchikan International Airport

History

Around the World War II era until the early 1970s, longer range land plane air service to Ketchikan including flights to Seattle were operated via an old military airfield located approximately 20 air miles to the south on Annette Island. Aircraft operated into the Annette Island Airport (ANN) for flights in the local southeast Alaska area included the Grumman Goose and Catalina PBY with these amphibian aircraft being utilized to link the airport with the Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base. Longer range flights serving Annette Island were operated with Douglas DC-4 prop aircraft flown by Pan American World Airways during the 1940s followed by Douglas DC-6 and Boeing 377 Stratocruiser aircraft. Other service into the Annette Island Airport included Lockheed Constellation propliners flown by Pacific Northern Airlines during the 1950s and Boeing 707 jetliners flown by Pan Am in the early 1960s. In addition, Annette Island was served with Boeing 720 jetliners operated by Pacific Northern and successor Western Airlines later during the 1960s. Alaska Airlines also operated into Annette Island Airport prior to moving its jet service to Ketchikan International Airport with the opening of this new airfield.

The current airport was opened on August 4, 1973 and was dedicated on the following day. The airport opening was the culmination of an effort by local residents, a 1965 study by the Alaska State Division of Aviation, another study in 1967 choosing the current site on Gravina Island, and land clearing in 1969. One of the first airlines to serve the new airport was Alaska Airlines which inaugurated the first jet service from Seattle to Ketchikan International Airport on August 4, 1973 with a Boeing 720 jetliner. Alaska Air primarily operated Boeing 727-100, 727-200 and 737-200 jetliners (including 737 passenger/cargo Combi aircraft) into the airport before switching to later model Boeing 737 jets. Alaska Airlines has flown from the airport for over 40 years and also operated Grumman Goose and Super Catalina amphibian aircraft into the seaplane base serving Ketchikan prior to the opening of the airfield in 1973. Other airlines that operated jet service into the airport in the past included Wien Air Alaska and MarkAir with both air carriers flying Boeing 737 jets as well as Western Airlines operating Boeing 727-200 jetliners.

Facilities and aircraft

Ketchikan International Airport covers an area of 2,600 acres (1,052 ha) at an elevation of 92 feet (27 m) above mean sea level. It has one asphalt paved runway designated 11/29 which measures 7,500 by 150 feet (2,286 x 46 m).

In 2004, a new taxiway "Bravo" was added to facilitate taxiing to the end of the frequently used runway 11 (the runway is located about 30 feet (9.1 m) higher than the apron further up the hillside, requiring long, gently sloped taxiways to either end). Before that taxiway, some smaller planes were allowed to use taxiway "Alpha" to take off and land because it was not worthwhile to backtaxi on the actual runway. In addition this allows the airport's system of taxiways to be used by more than one plane at once. More recently the airport is applying to construct another runway on a different heading which is better suited to handle the infamous crosswinds, sometimes up to 90 knots (170 km/h). These winds have been known to blow approaching planes out across Tongass Narrows in certain conditions.

For the 12-month period ending January 1, 2011, the airport had 15,959 aircraft operations, an average of 43 per day: 61% air taxi, 33% scheduled commercial, 5% general aviation, and 1% military. At that time there were five aircraft based at this airport: 60% single-engine, 20% multi-engine, and 20% jet.

Ketchikan International Airport Ferry

Because the international airport is on a sparsely populated island separated from Ketchikan, a ferry connects the airport to the city. The ferry alternately leaves Gravina Island or Revillagigedo Island every fifteen minutes and crosses Tongass Narrows with passengers and freight. The attempt to replace this ferry with a bridge became the object of national attention in 2005 that labeled the bridge the "bridge to nowhere". The ferry is one of three ferries that services Ketchikan daily.

Proposed road access

There is no road access between Ketchikan and the airport. A proposed bridge, referred to by its detractors as the "bridge to nowhere" despite its linking the city and its airport, has been designed with an estimated cost of $398 million. After protracted attention to the cost of the bridge, the U.S. federal government reversed its decision to fund the bridge in 2007. The money was transferred to the state of Alaska to determine the use of the funds.

Passenger

Alaska Airlines flies Boeing 737-400 and 737-800 jetliners while Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines flies Canadair CRJ-700 regional jets into the airport. Alaska Airlines' flights includes Boeing 737-400 passenger/cargo Combi aircraft as well as all-cargo Boeing 737-400 jet freighter service.

Cargo

Alaska Airlines operates Boeing 737-400 jet freighters into the airport as well with service to Anchorage, Juneau, Seattle and Sitka.

Charter Airlines

Accidents and incidents