Fairbanks International Airport

Fairbanks International Airport (IATA: FAI, ICAO: PAFA, FAA LID: FAI) is a state-owned public-use airport located three miles (5 km) southwest of the central business district of Fairbanks, a city in the Fairbanks North Star Borough of the United States state of Alaska.[1] Fairbanks is the smallest city in the United States with non-stop service to Europe, as Condor offers weekly flights to Frankfurt during the summer tourist season.[3] Air North is another international airline with flights (to Canada).

Fairbanks International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerState of Alaska DOT&PF
ServesFairbanks, Alaska
Hub for
Elevation AMSL439 ft / 134 m
Coordinates64°48′54″N 147°51′23″W
Websitewww.fai.alaska.gov
Map
FAI
Location of airport in Alaska
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
2L/20R 11,800 3,597 Asphalt
2R/20L 6,501 1,981 Asphalt
2/20 2,900 884 Gravel/Ski Strip
2W/20W 5,400 1,646 Water/Winter Ski Strip
Statistics
Aircraft operations (12 month end 2-28-2018)119,898
Based aircraft (2018)569
Passengers (12 month end 8-30-2018)1,077,000
Freight (2015)133,685,593 lbs

History

Early years

The airport opened in 1951 and took over existing scheduled airline traffic to Fairbanks, which had previously used Ladd Army Airfield.[4] Alaska Airlines used Fairbanks as its main hub in the 1950s, with service to Seattle and Portland as well as intrastate service to Anchorage, Nome and other destinations.[5] By 1967, however, the airline shifted its Alaska hub to Anchorage; its Anchorage-Fairbanks service continues to this day.[6] In the mid-1970s, following the development of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Alaska Airlines and Braniff International offered "interchange service" between Fairbanks and Houston via Anchorage, Seattle and Dallas.[7] In 1982, following airline deregulation, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines began a similar interchange service using Boeing 727s.[8]

Pan American World Airways had also served Fairbanks since 1932. The station was originally opened after the acquisition of Pacific International Airways and used for short-haul services to Juneau, Seattle, Ketchikan, Whitehorse and other destinations.[9] Pan Am intended to use Fairbanks as a stop for service to Asia as early as 1931, but initial difficulty in negotiating landing rights with the Soviet Union, followed by the outbreak of World War II, delayed these plans until decades later. Pan Am service to Fairbanks continued through the opening of FAI until 1965, when the Civil Aeronautics Board terminated Pan Am's rights to serve Alaska.[10]

Pan American World Airways eventually used Fairbanks as a stopover for transpacific service from New York and Seattle to Tokyo starting in September 1969.[11][12][13] In 1974, Pan Am agreed to transfer its Fairbanks-Seattle service to Western Airlines, and requested that the CAB allow its New York-Tokyo service to be suspended from April 1975.[14] Other carriers such as Japan Airlines and Korean Air began to use Fairbanks as a technical stop for transpacific cargo flights in the late 1970s.[4]

Development since the 2000s

On October 11, 2009, the airport constructed a new terminal and demolished the old terminal which was built in 1948. The new terminal is built around the modern TSA standards. In addition to architectural design and better security, the main terminal now has six jet-bridges (up from the former five).[15] The 2,700m2 of custom unitised curtain wall was designed and supplied by Overgaard Ltd. Hong Kong. The special design incorporated double low-e triple glazing. The new building's footprint is smaller than the old building.

For the 12-month period ending February 28, 2018, the airport had 119,898 aircraft operations, an average of 328 per day: 58% general aviation, 31% air taxi, 9% scheduled commercial, and 2% military. At that time there were 569 aircraft based at this airport: 91% single-engine, 8% multi-engine, <1% jet and <1% helicopter.[1]

Facilities

Terminal

The terminal building, situated on the southwest side of the airport, contains seven gates: two for commuter carriers and five for larger carriers.

Runways

Fairbanks International Airport covers an area of 3,470 acres (1,404 ha) at an elevation of 439 feet (134 m) above mean sea level. It has four runways:[1]

  • Runway 2L/20R: 11,800 by 150 feet (3,597 x 46 m), surface: asphalt
  • Runway 2R/20L: 6,501 by 100 feet (1,981 x 30 m), surface: asphalt
  • Runway 2/20: 2,900 by 75 feet (884 x 23 m), surface: gravel/ski strip
  • Runway 2W/20W: 5,400 by 100 feet (1,646 x 30 m), surface: water/winter ski strip

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinationsRefs
40-Mile Air Delta, Healy Lake, Tok [16]
Air North Seasonal Charter: Dawson City [17]
Alaska Airlines Anchorage, Seattle/Tacoma [18]
American Airlines Seasonal: Chicago-O'Hare (begins June 3, 2021),[19] Dallas/Fort Worth (begins May 6, 2021)[19] [20]
Condor Seasonal: Frankfurt [21]
Delta Air Lines Seattle/Tacoma
Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul 		[22]
Everts Air Anaktuvuk Pass, Arctic Village, Eagle, Fort Yukon, Galena, Huslia, Kaktovik, Kaltag, Nulato, Ruby, Venetie [23]
Ravn Alaska Anchorage [24]
Sun Country Airlines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul (begins May 29, 2021)[25] [26]
United Airlines Seasonal: Anchorage (begins May 6, 2021),[27] Chicago–O'Hare, Denver (both resume May 6, 2021)[28] [29]
Warbelow's Air Ventures Beaver, Central, Circle, Manley Hot Springs, Minto, Rampart, Stevens Village [30]
Wright Air Service Allakaket, Anaktuvuk Pass, Arctic Village, Bettles, Birch Creek, Chalkyitsik, Fort Yukon, Galena, Hughes, Huslia, Kaltag, Koyukuk, Lake Minchumina, Nulato, Ruby, Tanana, Venetie [31]

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
DHL Aviation Los Angeles
Empire Airlines Anchorage

Statistics
Terminal interior
The airport's control tower, located on the East Ramp
Carrier shares (November 2019 - October 2020)[2]
Carrier   Passengers (arriving and departing)
Alaska
454,000(81.82%)
Delta
49,400(8.90%)
Wright
29,770(5.36%)
Peninsula
6,140(1.11%)
Horizon
3,860(0.70%)
Other
11,780(2.12%)
Top domestic destinations (November 2019 - October 2020)[2]
Rank City Airport Passengers
1 Seattle/Tacoma, WA Seattle–Tacoma International Airport 139,330
2 Anchorage, AK Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport 116,380
3 Galena, AK Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport 3,830
4 Fort Yukon, AK Fort Yukon Airport 3,070
5 Deadhorse, AK Deadhorse Airport 2,570
6 Anaktuvuk Pass, AK Anaktuvuk Pass Airport 2,100
7 Huslia, AK Huslia Airport 1,150
8 Tanana, AK Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport 1,120
9 Allakaket, AK Allakaket Airport 930
10 Ruby, AK Ruby Airport 900

Accidents and incidents
  • On February 16, 1975, a Pacific Alaska Airlines DC-6, a cargo flight, crashed attempting to return to Fairbanks Int'l Airport. Three engines lost power after takeoff from runway 10 and crashed 2km short of runway 19 attempting to return to the airport possibly due to fuel contamination. All three occupants were killed.[32]
  • In September 2013 there were two incidents of vehicular trespass onto its taxiway and runways, by users unknowingly following Apple Map's errant directions to Fairbanks International Airport. The directions indicated access to the Main Terminal via Taxiway B, which connects the East Ramp to the passenger terminal on the West Ramp. No one was injured nor were any flights were delayed. The Airport has since complained to Apple Inc, through the local attorney office and erected barricades along the final stretch of the runway to prevent future occurrences.[33]

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for FAI PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. effective April 27, 2017.
  2. "Fairbanks, AK: Fairbanks International (FAI)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. December 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  3. International Transportation Fact Sheet Archived 2008-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, State of Alaska Governor's Office of International Trade
  4. "History of Fairbanks International Airport". Fairbanks International Airport. Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities. 2011.
  5. "Alaska Airlines system schedule". Timetable Images. June 7, 1953.
  6. "Alaska Airlines system schedule". Timetable Images. June 1, 1967.
  7. "Alaska Airlines System Wide Routes". Departed Flights. February 1, 1975.
  8. "History of American Airlines". American Airlines. June 2015. Archived from the original on 2012-05-26.
  9. "Pan Am to stop Alaska flights, closes chapter in aviation history". Ellensburg Daily Record. UPI. September 19, 1978.
  10. Kiffer, Dave (December 29, 2006). "Pan Am: Once Ketchikan's Link to the Outside World". Stories in the News. Ketchikan, Alaska.
  11. "Pan Am introduces the first nonstop service from Fairbanks to Tokyo". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. August 5, 1969.
  12. "Pan Am route map" (Map). Departed Flights. February 1, 1972.
  13. "Pan Am World Routes" (Map). Departed Flights. April 29, 1973.
  14. "Pan Am route sale to Western okayed by CAB". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. February 14, 1975.
  15. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 21, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "40-Mile Air Scheduled Destinations". 40-Mile Air. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  17. "Flight Schedules". Air North. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  18. "Route Map". Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  19. "American Airlines to Offer New Summer Seasonal Service to Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago in 2021". Fairbanks International Airport. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  20. "Flight schedules and notifications". American Airlines. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  21. "Timetable". Condor Airlines. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  22. "Flight Status & Notifications". Delta Air Lines. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  23. "Passenger Schedules". Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  24. "Route Map". Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  25. "Sun Country to Offer New Summer Seasonal Service to Minneapolis/St. Paul in Summer 2021". Fairbanks International Airport. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  26. "Route Map". Sun Country Airlines. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  27. "Cool: United Airlines Will Operate Intra-Alaska Flight". One Mile at a Time. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  28. "The pandemic has upended Alaska flight schedules. If you travel next year, plan accordingly". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  29. "Check flight schedules and notifications". United Airlines. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  30. "Scheduled Service". Warbelow's Air Ventures. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  31. "Timetable" (PDF). Wright Air Service. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  32. Accident description for N77DG at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 29, 2020.
  33. "Apple Maps flaw results in drivers crossing airport runway". BBC News. September 25, 2013.
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