Nikolski Air Station guide

Nikolski Air Station is an unattended airfield serving the village of Nikolski at the western end of Umnak Island, in the Aleutians West Census Area of Alaska. It was built in 1958 to support the Nikolski Air Force Station, a Cold War radar site, and the Air Force inactivated the station in September 1969. The airfield sits at an elevation of 77 feet. Its codes are IKO (IATA), PAKO (ICAO) and IKO (FAA).

The field has one gravel runway, 8/26, measuring 3,512 by 135 feet. It has no control tower and no runway markings, and the FAA data notes that the surface may be soft with ponding after heavy precipitation. No road links Nikolski to other communities, and barges deliver cargo only once or twice a year, so the airstrip carries passengers, mail and freight.

Grant Aviation flies scheduled service to Unalaska and Dutch Harbor, about 115 miles to the east, under the Essential Air Service program. The FAA recorded 165 enplanements in 2008, 219 in 2009 and 160 in 2010.