Ketchikan International Airport | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | State of Alaska DOT&PF – Southeastern Region | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Ketchikan, Alaska | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 92 ft / 28 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 55°21′15″N131°42′40″W / 55.35417°N 131.71111°W /55.35417; -131.71111 | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  KTN Location of airport in Alaska | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||||||
Ketchikan International Airport (IATA:KTN,ICAO:PAKT,FAALID:KTN) is a state-owned, public-use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) west of the central business district ofKetchikan, a city inKetchikan Gateway Borough inAlaska, that has no direct road access to the outside world or to the airport.[2] The airport is located onGravina Island, just west of Ketchikan on the other side of theTongass Narrows. Passengers must take a seven-minute[3] ferry ride across the water to get to the airport from the town.
As perFederal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 148,645 passenger boardings (enplanements) incalendar year 2023,[4] which was a 3.38% increase from 2022. It is included in theNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2015–2019, whichcategorized it as aprimary commercial service (nonhub) airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year) based on 103,136 enplanements in 2012.[5]
Around theWorld 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 onAnnette Island. Aircraft operated into theAnnette Island Airport (ANN) for flights in the local southeast Alaska area included theGrumman Goose andConsolidated PBY Catalina with theseamphibian aircraft being utilized to link the airport with theKetchikan Harbor Seaplane Base. Longer range flights serving Annette Island were operated withDouglas DC-4 prop aircraft flown byPan American World Airways during the 1940s followed byDouglas DC-6 andBoeing 377 Stratocruiser aircraft. Other service into the Annette Island Airport includedLockheed Constellation propliners flown byPacific Northern Airlines during the 1950s[6] andBoeing 707 jetliners flown byPan Am in the early 1960s.[7] In addition, Annette Island was served withBoeing 720 jetliners operated by Pacific Northern and successorWestern Airlines later during the 1960s.[8]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.[9]
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.[10] One of the first airlines to serve the new airport wasAlaska Airlines which inaugurated the first jet service from Seattle to Ketchikan International Airport on August 4, 1973, with aBoeing 720 jetliner.[11] Alaska Air primarily operatedBoeing 727-100,727-200 and737-200 jetliners (including 737 passenger/cargoCombi aircraft) into the airport before switching to later modelBoeing 737 jets.[12] Alaska Airlines has flown from the airport for over 40 years and also operatedGrumman Goose and SuperCatalinaamphibian aircraft into the seaplane base serving Ketchikan prior to the opening of the airfield in 1973.[13] Other airlines that operated jet service into the airport in the past includedWien Air Alaska andMarkAir with both air carriers flyingBoeing 737 jets as well asWestern Airlines operatingBoeing 727-200 jetliners.[14]
Ketchikan International Airport covers an area of 2,600 acres (1,052ha) at an elevation of 92 feet (27 m) abovemean sea level. It has oneasphalt pavedrunway designated 11/29 which measures 7,500 by 150 feet (2,286 x 46 m) and one water runway forseaplanes designated WNW/ESE which measures 9,500 by 1,500 feet (2896 x 457 m).[2]
In 2004 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 as large as aBoeing 737-900 at once.[15]
For the 12-month period ending January 31, 2019, the airport had 15,959 aircraft operations, an average of 44 per day: 61%air taxi, 33%scheduled commercial, 4%general aviation, and <1%military. At that time there were five aircraft based at this airport: three single-engine, one multi-engine, and onejet.[2]
Because the international airport is on an island separated from Ketchikan, a ferry connects the airport to the city, crossing theTongass Narrows with passengers and vehicles.[16] There are two ferries serving the route betweenGravina Island (the airport) andRevillagigedo Island (the city of Ketchikan). There are two departures in every hour in each direction.[17]
Ketchikan and Revillagigedo Island have no land-based connections to the mainland. However, it lies onAlaska Route 7, the land route whose sections are connected by theAlaska Marine Highway.[18][19]
A proposed bridge, referred to by its detractors as the "bridge to nowhere" despite its linking the city and its airport, was designed with an estimated cost of $398 million to replace the ferry. After protracted attention to the cost of the bridge, theUnited States Congress 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.[20]
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| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | Juneau,Seattle/Tacoma,Sitka,Wrangell |
| Island Air Express[21] | Klawock |
Alaska Airlines fliesBoeing 737-700 and737-800 jetliners into the airport. Alaska Airlines' flights include Boeing 737-700 passenger as well as converted all-cargo Boeing 737-700F jet freighter service.[22]
| Rank | Airline | Passengers | Percent of market share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska Airlines | 265,000 | 90.63% |
| 2 | Island Air Express | 27,040 | 9.24% |
| 3 | Alaska Seaplanes | 380 | 0.13% |
| Rank | City | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle / Tacoma, WA | Seattle-Tacoma International Airport | 91,750 | Alaska |
| 2 | Juneau, AK | Juneau International Airport | 15,390 | Alaska |
| 3 | Anchorage, AK | Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport | 14,210 | Island Air Express |
| 4 | Klawock, AK | Klawock Airport | 13,970 | Alaska |
| 5 | Sitka, AK | Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport | 5,860 | Alaska |
| 6 | Wrangell, AK | Wrangell Airport | 3,280 | Alaska |
| 7 | Petersburg, AK | Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport | 2,070 |
