The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the U.S. agency that regulates civil aviation and oversees airspace and aviation safety across Alaska. It manages the state's airports, bush and Part 135 operations, navigation aids, and flight restrictions while funding runway and lighting projects.
Photo: City of Anchorage, Office of the City Manager via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · Public domain
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FAA weighs releasing 40 acres of Fairbanks airport land for sale to expand a gravel mine
Fairbanks International Airport wants to sell about 40 acres of airport land to make way for the expansion of a privately owned gravel mining company, and the Federal Aviation Administration is asking for public comment before it decides whether to allow it.
The airport bought the land with federal airport grants, so it needs the FAA to release it from its federal obligations before it can sell. The FAA's notice is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register on Thursday. Comments are due 30 days later, by Nov. 28.
The parcel sits northwest of South Vanhorn and 5th Wheel streets. The airport's approved layout plan shows it as undeveloped, with no planned aviation use, and the notice says the airport no longer needs it for aeronautical purposes. It would be sold at fair market value based on an appraisal.
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Wasilla City Council Airport Rate Increase Hearing
Federal money would cover 96% of Wasilla's $20 million runway extension, staff says
Wasilla's runway extension would cost the city about 4% of $20 million, staff says. First come the surveys that have to wait for leaves on the trees.

FAA Airspace Redesign Public Comment Deadline
FAA proposes redrawing Anchorage basin airspace and flight paths for JBER's extended runway
The FAA wants to redraw the airspace over the Anchorage basin so JBER can use an instrument landing system on its longer runway. Comments are due Nov. 9.

FAA Airspace Proposal Comment Deadline
FAA scales back plan to expand controlled airspace over Alaska after pilot groups object
The FAA wanted nearly all of Alaska's sky above 1,200 feet under controlled-airspace rules. Pilots pushed back, and four remote regions get a 4,000-foot floor.

Haines Airport Runway and Taxiway Rehabilitation Project - Construction Begins
FAA awards $19.6 million to replace worn-out lighting and signs at Haines Airport
Haines Airport's runway lights, taxiway signs and beacon have all reached the end of their useful life, per the FAA, which is sending $19.6 million to fix that.

Latest
FAA hires contractor to put a $1.6 million roof on McGrath's navigation beacon
The FAA is paying $1.6 million for a new roof on McGrath's radio navigation beacon, even as it drops an airway that ran from it and moves Alaska routes to GPS.

Fairbanks airport's control tower is closing overnight because of FAA staffing
Citing staffing constraints, the FAA has closed the Fairbanks airport tower from 10 pm to 6 am nightly since Oct. 18. Pilots announce their own moves.

FAA certifies the 737 MAX 10, the jet behind Alaska Airlines' biggest order
The FAA certified Boeing's 737 MAX 10, most of Alaska Airlines' 168-plane MAX order. The first is expected in 2027, and some will get lie-flat seats.

FAA posts first flight limits ahead of Trump’s Alaska visit
The FAA's drone ban over JBER runs 3:35 to 10:15 pm on Trump's rally day. Bigger flight limits reaching 30 nautical miles may still be coming.

FAA keeps plowing roads to Alaska navigation beacons as it retires others
The FAA pays local crews to plow roads to Alaska's radio navigation beacons each winter, even as it retires more than a dozen others in favor of GPS.

Vance visit brings flight limits to Anchorage and Fairbanks
Flight restrictions posted for Vance's Alaska trip cover Anchorage twice and Fairbanks once. Merrill Field pilots, plan around Monday and Tuesday.

Juneau airport board to vote on $4.6 million for snow-removal equipment
Juneau's airport board votes Thursday on $4.9 million for new snow gear, from front-end loaders to a runway broom, mostly paid for with FAA money.

FAA hires Calista-owned firm for next round of decades-old Cold Bay fuel cleanup
The FAA has been cleaning up leaked fuel at its Cold Bay station since the '90s. A Calista-owned Anchorage firm just got $471,000 for the next chapter.

FAA awards Sitka $2 million for seaplane base land and final design
Sitka has federal money to buy land and finish designs for a new floatplane base. The $34 million to actually build it hasn't turned up yet.

Two Juneau airport approaches are down, with no FAA timeline to fix them
Two instrument approaches to a Juneau airport runway are out of service, and the FAA has given no timeline to restore them.

Ekwok's airport would host FAA weather and navigation equipment for 20 years, with comments due Sept. 11
Ekwok's airport would host FAA weather and navigation equipment for 20 years at no cost to the state, with public comments due Sept. 11.

The FAA is paying $4.3 million to design a radar tower near Sitka
The FAA is paying $4.3 million just to design a radar tower on Biorka Island south of Sitka, with an option for the same firm to build it later.

Comment closes Thursday on 18-year rent-free FAA lease at Chenega Bay Airport
Alaska is deciding whether to give the FAA an 18-year rent-free lease for weather equipment at Chenega Bay Airport. Comments close Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Drones are dropping chaff over Nenana to try to stop lightning
A Vancouver startup is dropping metallic chaff from drones over Nenana to try to stop lightning before it starts wildfires. The flights run through Sept. 30.

Anchorage approves $40,000 to update Merrill Field's airport layout plan
Anchorage approved $40,000, almost all of it federal, to update Merrill Field's airport layout plan after new flight procedures changed what it must show.

The FAA is rewiring Alaska's air routes from beacons to GPS
The FAA is rebuilding Alaska's air routes, trading old ground beacons for GPS — and an Oct. 29 batch of changes gives King Salmon a better-connected path.
State weighs 19-year rent-free FAA lease at Hooper Bay Airport
Alaska is considering a 19-year rent-free lease for the FAA to install navigation and weather equipment at Hooper Bay Airport, one of six rural airports where the agency seeks similar no-cost deals.

FAA retires two Alaska flight routes in a satellite-navigation shift
The FAA will retire two Alaska flight routes Oct. 29 and extend a third, part of a shift from ground-based to satellite navigation over non-radar terrain.

Alaska's small planes get until 2034 to upgrade altimeters — if they fly Outside
Alaska's air taxis and floatplanes must upgrade altimeters by 2034 to resist 5G interference, but only if they fly outside the state. In-state flying is exempt.

Alaska keeps trading its old flight beacons for GPS, one route at a time
The FAA is amending a GPS airway near Kodiak this fall, part of Alaska's slow statewide switch from old ground beacons to satellite-guided flight routes.
NTSB: Bering Air crash that killed 10 was a chain of preventable failures
The NTSB found the Bering Air crash that killed 10 near Nome resulted from a chain of preventable failures — an overweight plane the company routinely flew heavy, severe icing, and a pilot overloaded in the final minutes.

Alaska Airlines crews could lose state break protections
A federal proposal would strip state-guaranteed meal and rest breaks from airline crews, including Alaska Airlines flight attendants — leaving only the federal standard in place.

The FAA wants to end the 50-year ban on supersonic flight — and Alaska has the sky for it
Supersonic flight over the U.S. has been banned since 1973. The FAA wants to lift it — and few states have more empty sky for boomless supersonic jets than Alaska.

Beluga Fire triggers nightly FAA flight restriction near Anchorage
FAA restricted airspace over the Beluga Fire northwest of Anchorage nightly through June 28 to protect firefighting aircraft from the surface to 2,000 feet.

The Army Just Ran a Shark Tank in Alaska — and a Soldier's Enemy-Sniffing Drone Won
The Army ran a Shark Tank in Alaska, and a soldier's drone that narcs on the enemy's radios took the prize. Losing pitches still "win," per the general.
