Juneau International Airport
Encyclopedia
Juneau International Airport is a public-use airport
and seaplane
base located seven nautical mile
s (8 mi
, 13 km
) northwest of the central business district
of Juneau
, a city and borough in the U.S. state
of Alaska
. The airport serves as a regional hub for all air travel, both bush carriers and the regional airline, Alaska Airlines
.
This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
for 2011–2015, which categorized
it as a primary commercial service airport. As per Federal Aviation Administration
records, the airport had 378,741 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year
2008, 337,038 enplanements in 2009, and 344,057 in 2010.
, Juneau Airport was used by the United States Army Air Force as a transport link between the combat bases being established in the Aleutians and airfields in the Continental United States. It was also used by Air Transport Command
and facilitated the transport of Lend-Lease
aircraft to the Soviet Union
via Nome
(Marks Army Airfield).
s (264 ha
) at an elevation
of 21 feet (6 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
designated 8/26 with an asphalt
surface measuring 8,457 by 150 feet (2,578 x 46 m). It also has one seaplane
landing area designated 8W/26W which measures 4,900 by 450 feet (1,494 x 137 m).
For the 12-month period ending November 30, 2011, the airport had 86,564 aircraft operations, an average of 237 per day: 73% air taxi
, 17% general aviation
, 9% scheduled commercial
, and 1% military
. At that time there were 339 aircraft based at this airport: 82% single-engine
, 6% multi-engine, <1% jet
, 10% helicopter
, <1% ultralight, and 1% military
.
s offer scheduled passenger service at this airport:
, land flat enough for airport facilities is at a premium. One of these few areas is the current location of the airport: the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge, a vastly diverse and ecologically critical region rich with plant life, small mammals, birds, several species of salmon, even black bear
s and Bald Eagle
s. The original airstrip was built in the 1930s, and no environmental impact analysis was performed at that time. The area currently housing the terminal and runways had to be filled in and part of the Gastineau Channel
had to be dredged before the airport, in its current incarnation, could be built.
The airport is the only way in and out of the city, with exception of the Alaska Marine Highway
and cargo ships traversing the Inside Passage
. In the past, concerns have been raised over the safety of the airport, which is comparatively quite small, with the amount of air traffic it receives. In addition to frequent arrivals and departures from hubs such as Anchorage
and Seattle/Tacoma
, the airport also has daily and/or weekly service to smaller regional communities, a floatplane
runway/docking area, and a heliport
. Three major construction projects are planned at the airport in the next few years. An airport terminal renovation project will be the first comprehensive upgrade to the passenger facilities in over twenty years and will provide for better flow through the passenger screening process. The airfield maintenance facilities project will provide much needed room for storage and servicing of snow removal equipment. The runway safety area project will extend the runway at both ends and improve taxiways to meet Federal Aviation Administration requirements.
, a Boeing 727
crashed into the easterly slope of a canyon in the Chilkat Range of the Tongass National Forest
while on approach to Juneau International Airport. All 111 passengers and crew on board were killed. At the time it was the worst single airplane air disaster in United States history.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
and seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
base located seven nautical mile
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
s (8 mi
Mile
A mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile...
, 13 km
Kilometre
The kilometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second...
) northwest of the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of Juneau
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
, a city and borough in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The airport serves as a regional hub for all air travel, both bush carriers and the regional airline, Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is an airline based in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac, Washington in the United States. The airline originated in 1932 as McGee Airways. After many mergers with and acquisitions of other airlines, including Star Air Service, it became known as Alaska Airlines in 1944...
.
This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. It is developed and maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration . Its purposes are:* to identify all the airports in the U.S...
for 2011–2015, which categorized
FAA airport categories
The United States Federal Aviation Administration has a system for categorizing public-use airports that is primarily based on the level of commercial passenger traffic through each facility. It is used to determine if an airport is eligible for funding through the federal government's Airport...
it as a primary commercial service airport. As per Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
records, the airport had 378,741 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year
Calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day. By convention, a calendar year consists of a natural number of days. To reconcile the calendar year with an astronomical cycle , certain years...
2008, 337,038 enplanements in 2009, and 344,057 in 2010.
History
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Juneau Airport was used by the United States Army Air Force as a transport link between the combat bases being established in the Aleutians and airfields in the Continental United States. It was also used by Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
and facilitated the transport of Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
aircraft to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
via Nome
Nome
Nome may refer to:A country subdivision:* Nome an administrative division within ancient Egypt.* Nome , the administrative division immediately below the peripheries of Greece Places:* Nome, Norway* Nome, Alaska, US...
(Marks Army Airfield).
Facilities and aircraft
Juneau International Airport covers an area of 653 acreAcre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (264 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
) at an elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 21 feet (6 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 8/26 with an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
surface measuring 8,457 by 150 feet (2,578 x 46 m). It also has one seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
landing area designated 8W/26W which measures 4,900 by 450 feet (1,494 x 137 m).
For the 12-month period ending November 30, 2011, the airport had 86,564 aircraft operations, an average of 237 per day: 73% air taxi
Air taxi
An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...
, 17% general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
, 9% scheduled commercial
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
, and 1% military
Military aviation
Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...
. At that time there were 339 aircraft based at this airport: 82% single-engine
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
, 6% multi-engine, <1% jet
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
, 10% helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
, <1% ultralight, and 1% military
Military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...
.
Airlines and scheduled destinations
The following airlineAirline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
s offer scheduled passenger service at this airport:
| Rank | City | Airport | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle, WA | SEA Seattle-Tacoma International Airport The Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , also known as Sea–Tac Airport or Sea–Tac , is an American airport located in SeaTac, Washington, at the intersections of State Routes 99 and 509 and 518, about west of Interstate 5... |
127,000 |
| 2 | Anchorage, AK | ANC Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport -Top destinations:-Scheduled cargo airlines:-Top destinations:-Scheduled cargo airlines:-Top destinations:-Scheduled cargo airlines:-Inter-terminal:... |
76,000 |
| 3 | Sitka, AK | SIT Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport is a public airport owned and operated by the State of Alaska located on Japonski Island in southwestern Sitka, Alaska, U.S.... |
19,000 |
| 4 | Ketchikan, AK | KTN Ketchikan International Airport Ketchikan International Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile west of the central business district of Ketchikan, a city in Ketchikan Gateway Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.... |
17,000 |
| 5 | Hoonah, AK | HNH Hoonah Airport Hoonah Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile southeast of the central business district of Hoonah, Alaska.... |
9,000 |
| 6 | Haines, AK | HNS Haines Airport - External links :* * from USGS The National Map... |
8,000 |
| 7 | Petersburg, AK | PSG Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport is a public airport located one mile southeast of the central business district of Petersburg, a city in the Petersburg Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport has a single runway. Airline service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service... |
8,000 |
| 8 | Gustavus, AK | GST Gustavus Airport Gustavus Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located in Gustavus, a city in the Hoonah–Angoon Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska. Scheduled airline service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.... |
8,000 |
| 9 | Skagway, AK | SGY Skagway Airport Skagway Airport is a state-owned public-use airport in the city of Skagway, Alaska. It is the busiest uncontrolled airport in North America; it does not have a control tower, so the only communication is plane-to-plane.... |
7,000 |
| 10 | Yakutat, AK | YAK Yakutat Airport Yakutat Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Yakutat, a city in the U.S. state of Alaska.- Facilities and aircraft :... |
4,000 |
Location and controversy
Because of the extreme geography of Southeastern AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, land flat enough for airport facilities is at a premium. One of these few areas is the current location of the airport: the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge, a vastly diverse and ecologically critical region rich with plant life, small mammals, birds, several species of salmon, even black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
s and Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s. The original airstrip was built in the 1930s, and no environmental impact analysis was performed at that time. The area currently housing the terminal and runways had to be filled in and part of the Gastineau Channel
Gastineau Channel
Gastineau Channel is a channel between the mainland of the U.S. state of Alaska and Douglas Island in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska. It separates Juneau on the mainland side from Douglas , on Douglas Island. The first European to sight the channel was Joseph Whidbey early in...
had to be dredged before the airport, in its current incarnation, could be built.
The airport is the only way in and out of the city, with exception of the Alaska Marine Highway
Alaska Marine Highway
The Alaska Marine Highway or the Alaska Marine Highway System is a ferry service operated by the government of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska....
and cargo ships traversing the Inside Passage
Inside Passage
The Inside Passage is a coastal route for oceangoing vessels along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific coast of North America. The route extends from southeastern Alaska, in the United States, through western British Columbia, in Canada, to northwestern Washington...
. In the past, concerns have been raised over the safety of the airport, which is comparatively quite small, with the amount of air traffic it receives. In addition to frequent arrivals and departures from hubs such as Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
and Seattle/Tacoma
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, the airport also has daily and/or weekly service to smaller regional communities, a floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
runway/docking area, and a heliport
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
. Three major construction projects are planned at the airport in the next few years. An airport terminal renovation project will be the first comprehensive upgrade to the passenger facilities in over twenty years and will provide for better flow through the passenger screening process. The airfield maintenance facilities project will provide much needed room for storage and servicing of snow removal equipment. The runway safety area project will extend the runway at both ends and improve taxiways to meet Federal Aviation Administration requirements.
Incidents
On September 4, 1971, Alaska Airlines Flight 1866Alaska Airlines Flight 1866
Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 was the first fatal jet airliner crash of Alaska Airlines, an airline registered in the United States. The aircraft crashed into a mountain near Juneau, Alaska on approach for landing on September 4, 1971. 111 people were killed. There were no survivors...
, a Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
crashed into the easterly slope of a canyon in the Chilkat Range of the Tongass National Forest
Tongass National Forest
The Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska is the largest national forest in the United States at 17 million acres . Most of its area is part of the temperate rain forest WWF ecoregion, itself part of the larger Pacific temperate rain forest WWF ecoregion, and is remote enough to be home...
while on approach to Juneau International Airport. All 111 passengers and crew on board were killed. At the time it was the worst single airplane air disaster in United States history.
See also
- Alaska World War II Army AirfieldsAlaska World War II Army AirfieldsDuring World War II, Alaska was a major United States Army Air Force location for personnel, aircraft, and airfields to support Lend-Lease aid for the Soviet Union...
- List of airports in Alaska
External links
- Juneau International Airport, official web site
- FAA Alaska airport diagram for Juneau International (JNU) (GIFGIFThe Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
) - Topographic map from USGS The National Map
