Aleut Ventures opens Frosty Fuels crew and fueling facility at Cold Bay Airport

Aleut Ventures opened a Frosty Fuels fixed-base operation, or FBO, at Cold Bay Airport this September, giving flight crews and passengers an on-airport place to wait, rest and get ground support. A fixed-base operation is the business that services aircraft on the ground. The facility is part of the company's broader $1.25 million investment in Cold Bay, which includes infrastructure improvements and expanded aviation support services.

Services at the new FBO include a crew lounge and passenger waiting area, ground power unit service, deicing, vehicle rental, lodging and 24/7 call-out support. Frosty Fuels, a subsidiary of Aleut Ventures, already sells aviation fuel year-round; the FBO adds the crew and passenger side. The company says it serves commercial, cargo, charter, medevac, military and government flights.

The Aleut Corporation, created under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, serves more than 5,000 Unangax̂ shareholders and descendants.

The airport has a 10,180-foot runway. Governor Mike Dunleavy announced in July that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had issued the Clean Water Act permit needed to fill wetlands for an 11-mile gravel road from King Cove to Cold Bay Airport. The road crosses the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, and exists only because Interior exchanged 490 acres of refuge land, including designated wilderness, for 1,739 acres from King Cove Corporation last October. The permit went to the state transportation department, which expected construction to begin in 30 days. That was Aug. 9, and no start has been announced.

Officials said the road would give King Cove residents ground access to Cold Bay's all-weather airport for medical evacuations. Aleut, which campaigns publicly for the road, counts more than 217 medevacs from King Cove since 2013.