Fairbanks airport's control tower is closing overnight, but planes still fly

The air traffic control tower at Fairbanks International Airport has been closing nightly from 10 pm to 6 am since Oct. 18, though the airport itself stays open.

The FAA describes the change as a temporary reduction in tower hours caused by staffing constraints, not an airport closure. Its original notice to pilots said the overnight closures would last until further notice.

During those hours, the Federal Aviation Administration's tower and radar approach control services are unavailable. Pilots announce their own movements on the tower's frequency, 118.3 MHz, and get clearances to fly on instruments from Fairbanks Flight Service on the ground or from the FAA's Anchorage Center once airborne, according to the notice.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association urged pilots to use caution, saying the change makes Fairbanks a one-in, one-out airport for instrument traffic overnight.

Some instrument landing approaches to Runway 2L/20R are unavailable during those hours. Pilots can't control the runway lights themselves, though they can ask airport operations on 118.3 to adjust them. The airport's automated weather broadcast is off, though weather reports remain available from Flight Service, the Alaska Aviation Weather Office and Anchorage Center.

The FAA's controller workforce plan set a 2026 staffing target of 22 controllers for the Fairbanks tower. It had 18 fully certified controllers as of Sept. 20, 2025, plus three trainees.

The FAA's original notice was marked canceled Oct. 26, but separate operational notices still listed the overnight restrictions as of Wednesday. Those notices list the approach control closures through the morning of Oct. 31 and the tower closures through the morning of Nov. 1, an end date the FAA marks as estimated. The weather broadcast outage is listed nightly through Nov. 27.