Fairbanks International Airport facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fairbanks International Airport
IATA: FAI ICAO: PAFA FAA LID: FAI
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	State of Alaska DOT&PF
Serves	Fairbanks, Alaska
Hub for	Everts Air Warbelow's Air Ventures Wright Air Service
Elevation AMSL	439 ft / 134 m
Coordinates	64°48′54″N 147°51′23″W / 64.81500°N 147.85639°W / 64.81500; -147.85639
Map
FAI Location in Alaska
Runway
Runway 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
Source: Federal Aviation Administration Source: Bureau of Transportation

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. 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. Air North is another international airline with flights (to Canada).

History

Early years

The airport opened in 1951 and took over existing scheduled airline traffic to Fairbanks, which had previously used Ladd Army Airfield. 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. By 1967, however, the airline shifted its Alaska hub to Anchorage; its Anchorage-Fairbanks service continues to this day. 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. In 1982, following airline deregulation, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines began a similar interchange service using Boeing 727s.

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. 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.

Pan American World Airways eventually used Fairbanks as a stopover for transpacific service from New York and Seattle to Tokyo starting in September 1969. 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. 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.

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). 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.

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:

• 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

Cargo

Statistics

Terminal interior

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

Top domestic destinations (December 2019 - November 2020)

Rank	City	Airport	Passengers	Carriers
1	Seattle/Tacoma, WA	Seattle–Tacoma International Airport	129,350	Alaska, Delta
2	Anchorage, AK	Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport	105,680	Alaska
3	Galena, AK	Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport	3,450	Everts, Wright
4	Fort Yukon, AK	Fort Yukon Airport	2,820	Everts, Wright
5	Deadhorse, AK	Deadhorse Airport	2,220	Alaska
6	Anaktuvuk Pass, AK	Anaktuvuk Pass Airport	1,990	Everts, Wright
7	Huslia, AK	Huslia Airport	1,070	Everts, Wright
8	Tanana, AK	Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport	950	Wright
9	Allakaket, AK	Allakaket Airport	860	Wright
10	Ruby, AK	Ruby Airport	790	Everts, Wright

Images for kids

• 

  Onboard Alaska Airlines departing Fairbanks International Airport in 2021

See also

In Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Fairbanks para niños