Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (former Galena Air Force Base) | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | State of Alaska DOT&PF – Northern Region | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Galena, Alaska | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 154 ft / 47 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 64°44′10″N156°56′15″W / 64.73611°N 156.93750°W /64.73611; -156.93750 | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  GAL Location of airport in Alaska | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||||||
Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (IATA:GAL,ICAO:PAGA,FAALID:GAL) is a state-owned public-use airport located inGalena, a city in theYukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the U.S. state ofAlaska.[1]
As perFederal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 7,784 passenger boardings (enplanements) incalendar year 2008,[2] 7,447 enplanements in 2009, and 12,421 in 2010.[3] It is included in theNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, whichcategorized it as anon-primary commercial service airport (between 2,500 and 10,000 enplanements per year) based on enplanements in 2008;[4] however, it qualifies as aprimary commercial service airport based on enplanements in 2010.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: who is "Edward G. Pitka Sr." and why is the airport named after him?. You can help byadding missing information.(September 2012) |
AsGalena Airport, it was used as a military transport base duringWorld War II, facilitating the transit of lend-lease aircraft to the Soviet Union.
AsGalena Air Force Station, it was used by theUSAF during theCold War as an interceptor base for aircraft patrolling the western areas of Alaska. It was downsized in 1993, but the military airfield is maintained by a private contractor as a weather/emergency diversion airfield since Regular Air Force fighter-interceptor alert operations ended.[5] It is now known as Galena Forward Operating Location.[citation needed]
Edward G. Pitka Sr Airport covers an area of 1,250 acres (506ha) at an elevation of 154 feet (47 m) abovemean sea level. It has tworunways: 8/26 is 6,000 by 100 feet (1,829 x 30 m) with anasphalt andconcrete surface; 6/24 is 2,600 by 50 feet (792 x 15 m) with agravel ski strip surface.[1]
The airport also sports a ski-jump takeoff ramp at one end and provisions for arresting gear (see picture, ski jump at 07 end) at the other, a leftover from the Cold War years as Galena Air Force Base, as tactical aircraft required more landing and takeoff space than was available on the runway.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2022, the airport had 19,000 aircraft operations, an average of 52 per day: 68%general aviation, 16%scheduled commercial, 11%military, and 5%air taxi. At that time there was no aircraft based at the airport.[1]
| Airlines | Destinations |
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| Everts Air | Fairbanks[6] |
| Wright Air Service | Fairbanks,Huslia,Kaltag,Koyukuk,Nulato,Ruby[7] |
| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairbanks, AK | 7,180 | Everts, Wright |
| 2 | Nulato, AK | 1,690 | Wright |
| 3 | Huslia, AK | 1,110 | Wright |
| 4 | Kaltag, AK | 1,010 | Wright |
| 5 | Koyukuk, AK | 460 | Wright |
| 6 | Ruby, AK | 280 | Wright |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research AgencyPreviously: Alaskan Air Force (1941-1942) | |||||||||
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