Over 8-Thousand Active Pilots In The State Flying More Than 9,500 Registered Aircraft

The FAA recently issued a fact sheet focusing on air transportation in Alaska pointing up just how dependent Alaskans are on their airplanes.

According to the FAA, there are 8,066 active pilots, 2,869 air frame and power plant mechanics of which 733 have inspection authorizations, and 9,515 registered aircraft in Alaska. The state's 2.4 million square miles of airspace are served by 3 Flight Standards district offices 8 FAA control towers and 4 military towers; 1 certificate management office 2 terminal radar approach control facilities; 1 aircraft certification office 1 air route traffic control center; 141 automated weather monitoring systems 17 Flight Service Stations; 217 aviation weather camera sites; and 1 commercial spaceport.

The FAA says Alaska has 403 public use land-based airports, 43 heliports, and approximately 736 recorded landing areas (private, public, and military) total. Of course pilots land on many of the thousands of lakes and gravel bars across the state where no constructed facility exists. The number of enplanements (4.54 million) in Alaska is 6.2 times the state population compared to 2.3 times the U.S. population for all states. There are 286 certified air carriers in Alaska providing scheduled and on-demand services.

Lake Hood in Anchorage is the world's largest and busiest seaplane base and the only seaplane base with primary airport status in the U.S. It accommodates an average of 177 daily takeoffs and landings with nearly 600 on a peak summer day. There were just fewer than 65,000 operations in 2013, when combined with the Lake Hood gravel strip. Alaska has the most seaplane bases in the country at 139.

The FAA also spends a lot of money in Alaska. Since 1982 the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) has provided over $3.7 billion for airport construction, development, and planning in Alaska. This funding was provided via approximately 1,444 AIP grants. In fiscal year 2013, the FAA Alaskan Region distributed $190.4 million in 37 AIP grants to State and other “local” airport sponsors.

FMI: www.faa.gov