Merrill Field planners propose King Air 200 as design aircraft for 20-year plan

Craig Sanders, project manager for Merrill Field's master plan, proposed Thursday that the Beechcraft Super King Air 200 be the aircraft that sets design standards for the Anchorage airport as it plans for the next 20 years.

"We've identified that critical design aircraft as the Beechcraft Super King Air 200, which per the FAA's runway design codes is a B2," said Sanders, who works for contractor Woolpert. He presented draft inventory and forecast chapters to the Anchorage Assembly Energy, Enterprise and Utility Oversight Committee of the Whole.

The design aircraft is the most demanding plane using the field at least 500 times a year. It sets the runway design code, a safety feature the FAA defines based on aircraft characteristics, Sanders said. He called the pick a proposal, open to feedback through the end of the month before it goes to the FAA. It matches the airport's past layout and master plans.

Airport Manager Earl Malpass said the FAA requires the plan. An FAA grant pays for it, with a 5% local match, according to the Merrill Field Bulletin 2026 Q4. The plan is the airport's first major update since 2016, Alaska News reported Sept. 24 when the city called for public input.

Fixed-wing aircraft parking is nearly full. "We're at near capacity right now," Malpass said.

Sanders said Merrill Field, the first official airport in Alaska, turns 100 in three years. It holds more than 840 based aircraft and more than 30 businesses and tenants, and ranks second behind Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in aircraft operations. The field supports air taxis, commuter flights and air ambulances, with a taxiway to Alaska Regional Hospital. Sanders said the hospital is one of four with a taxiway leading directly to it. The airport facilitated about 1,657 medical evacuation hospital visits in 2024, according to the 2026 Merrill Field Airport budget.

Malpass said flights reach about 200 rural communities, and the airport tracks where passengers go after they land. The most common first stop is Costco, he said. He said Costco trucks unload perishables like lettuce and bananas directly at the field's six carriers, so the food doesn't sit on the ramp at 20 below before it reaches places like McGrath and Kotzebue.

Sanders said planners are looking at how the landfill under part of the field affects future development. About 42% of the airport sits on the former Anchorage Municipal Landfill, which closed in 1987, the budget says.