Anchorage airport passenger traffic grows 9% as Fairbanks holds steady, state report says

More travelers passed through Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in the first half of this year, while Fairbanks International Airport held steady, according to a new state report on Alaska's two international airports.

From January through June, the airports counted about 3.2 million passengers boarding or getting off flights, up 7% from the same period last year. Anchorage accounted for all of the growth, rising about 9% to nearly 2.66 million. Fairbanks was essentially flat at about 558,000.

Cargo tonnage at Anchorage rose more than 11%, though the report says part of that increase came from some airlines reporting their numbers more completely. The number of cargo plane landings stayed about the same as in 2025. The airport system says it has invested $126 million in nine more paved parking spots for cargo jets.

In May, the Federal Aviation Administration selected the airports for about $4 million in grants to replace two passenger boarding bridges at Anchorage and renovate restrooms at Fairbanks. Tsin'a LLC has begun negotiating a 55-year land lease for a proposed $105 million hotel at the Anchorage airport.

Southwest Airlines started its first scheduled Alaska service May 15, with seasonal flights including to Denver. That season ended in mid-September.

Anchorage residents bothered by aircraft noise will get a chance to weigh in. The airport's federally funded noise study, which is weighing ways to reduce aircraft noise in nearby neighborhoods, plans a public open house this fall. Study materials are posted at anc150noisestudy.com.