Ketchikan International Airport

N T he Ketchikan International Airport is a state-owned, public-use airport located one mile west of the central business district of Ketchikan, a city in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska. It is located on Gravina Island, just west of Ketchikan, on the other side of the Tongass Narrows. “The Airport is on an island and the town is on a neighboring island,” explains Airport Director, Mike Carney. “They’re virtually 575 yards apart and our Airport is serviced by our own ferry system; we have two ferries that run back and forth that bring cars, cargo, and people from the city to the Airport,” The Airport is situated on 2,689 acres of land; it has one asphalt paved runway, 11/29, which measures 7,500 by 150 feet. Around the World 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 of Gravina Island, on Annette Island. The current airport was opened on August 4, 1970. Passenger service from that date, until the present, has been provided mainly by Alaska Airlines with service to Anchorage, Juneau, Petersburg, Seattle/Tacoma, Sitka, and Wrangell. In addition, Delta Airlines provides seasonal service to Seattle/Tacoma, and Island Air Express flies to Klawock. Cargo service is provided by GATEWAY TO ALASKA