Fairbanks International Airport

Fairbanks International Airport Template:Airport codes 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 U.S. state of Alaska.<ref name=FAA /> It is located in the South Van Horn census-designated place.<ref name=CDPmap/> Fairbanks was the smallest city in the United States with regularly scheduled non-stop international flights, as Condor offered weekly flights to Frankfurt during the summer tourist season.<ref>International Transportation Fact Sheet Template:Webarchive, State of Alaska Governor's Office of International Trade</ref> Air North is now the only international airline to offer scheduled charters with flights (to Canada).

History

Aerial view of Fairbanks International Airport

Early years

The airport opened in 1951 and took over existing scheduled airline traffic to Fairbanks, which had previously used Ladd Army Airfield.<ref name="dot">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1967, however, the airline shifted its Alaska hub to Anchorage; its Anchorage-Fairbanks service continues to this day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the mid-1970s, following the development of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Alaska Airlines and Braniff International offered "interchange service" (see transport hub) between Fairbanks and Houston via Anchorage, Seattle and Dallas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1982, following airline deregulation, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines began a similar interchange service using Boeing 727s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Pan American World Airways eventually used Fairbanks as a stopover for transpacific service from New York and Seattle to Tokyo starting in September 1969.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="dot"/>

Development since the 2000s

Condor started a seasonal route to Frankfurt in May 2001. The inbound flight stopped in Whitehorse, Canada, and the outbound one was nonstop.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On October 11, 2009, the airport completed a new terminal and began demolishing 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).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2,700m² of custom-unitized curtain wall was designed and supplied by Overgaard Ltd. Hong Kong. The special design incorporates 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.<ref name="FAA" />

Facilities

Terminal

The terminal building, situated on the northwest side of the airport, contains eight gates: two for commuter carriers and six 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:<ref name="FAA" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Runway 2L/20R: 11,800 by 150 feet (3,597 x 46 m), surface: asphalt
• Runway 2R/20L: 4,510 by 75 feet (1,375 x 23 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

Statistics

Onboard an Alaska Airlines aircraft departing Fairbanks in 2021

Terminal interior

A FedEx Boeing 727 donated to the University of Alaska Fairbanks

The airport's control tower, located on the East Ramp

Top domestic destinations (July 2023 - June 2024)<ref name="transtats.bts.gov"> Template:Cite web </ref>

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	Template:Flagicon Seattle/Tacoma, WA	301,000	Alaska, Delta
2	Template:Flagicon Anchorage, AK	179,000	Alaska
3	Template:Flagicon Chicago, IL	17,000	United
4	Template:Flagicon Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN	14,000	Delta
5	Template:Flagicon Galena, AK	9,000	Everts, Wright
6	Template:Flagicon Fort Yukon, AK	5,000	Everts, Wright
7	Template:Flagicon Anaktuvuk Pass, AK	3,000	Everts, Wright
8	Template:Flagicon Denver, CO	2,000	United
8	Template:Flagicon Huslia, AK	2,000	Everts, Wright
8	Template:Flagicon Arctic Village, AK	2,000	Everts, Wright

Airline market share

Top airlines at FAI (July 2023 - June 2024)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Rank	Airline	Passengers	Percent of market share
1	Alaska Airlines	618,000	56.20%
2	Horizon Air	237,000	21.52%
3	Delta Air Lines	134,000	12.15%
4	Wright Air Service	46,180	4.20%
5	United Airlines	41,880	3.81%
6	Other Airlines	23,280	2.12%

Accidents and incidents

• On December 30, 1951, Transocean Air Lines Flight 501, a Curtiss C-46 Commando and a cargo flight, crashed on approach to FAI due to not following radio procedures and spatial disorientation. All four occupants were killed. The wreckage was found on January 3, 1952.<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
• 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 2 km short of runway 19 attempting to return to the airport possibly due to fuel contamination. All three occupants were killed.<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
• On February 28, 1994, during takeoff for a ferry flight to Miami, a Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar of Rich International Airways (registered N303EA) experienced a mechanical power loss on the number 3 and number 1 engines and an internal fire on the number 1 engine. The takeoff was aborted, and during the taxi back, the fire on the number 1 engine was extinguished. None of the 3 occupants on board were injured.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On April 23, 2024, approximately six minutes after takeoff, an Alaska Air Fuel Douglas C-54D, (registered N3054V), suffered an engine explosion and crashed along the Tanana River Template:Cvt southwest of Fairbanks. Two occupants were onboard the plane, and both were killed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Fairbanks International Airport (official web site)
• FAI Terminal Area Development Project
• FAA Alaska airport map (GIF)
• FAA Alaska airport diagram (GIF)
• Template:FAA-diagram
• Template:FAA-procedures

• • Template:FAA-delay