King Salmon Airport guide

King Salmon Airport sits just southeast of the community of King Salmon, on the north bank of the Naknek River in the Bristol Bay Borough. The community is about 284 miles southwest of Anchorage, and flying is the main way in. The airport is a non-hub primary commercial service facility under the FAA classification.

The field began as a military base. The US Army Air Forces built Naknek Air Base in the early 1940s to defend Alaska, and it later operated as King Salmon Air Station during the Cold War. The Air Force closed the base in the early 1990s, and the airfield now serves the public.

Traffic is mostly small aircraft. In the 12 months to June 2021 the airport logged 25,201 operations, an average of 69 a day: 65 percent air taxi, 24 percent general aviation, 7 percent scheduled commercial and 4 percent military. Alaska Airlines is the largest scheduled carrier, with regional operators such as Grant Aviation, Katmai Air and Aleutian Airways flying to villages and lodges across Bristol Bay.

King Salmon is also the headquarters for Katmai National Park and Preserve, so the airport handles visitors heading for the park's bear-viewing sites, plus seasonal fishing traffic. Airport rules limit airline operations with more than 30 passenger seats to those with prior written approval. A control tower operates, and rescue and firefighting crews staff the field during commercial arrivals.