The Alaska airport, to which passengers must use a ferry

Alaska is a fascinating state for aviation enthusiasts, as the region’s airports and airlines have something to offer everyone. Its main air hub is Ted Stevens International (ANC). AnchorageAlaska is also served by several smaller facilities that play a critical role in keeping the rural communities of the “final frontier” connected to the world. One of these is the rather unique Ketchikan International (KTN).

A Brief History of Ketchikan International Airport

The airport itself is relatively new (at least in terms of aviation’s long history), having only opened 51 years ago, in 1973. According to Ketchikan Museums, planning for the facility dates back to 1967, when local officials began considering three sites for an airport to serve the city. In August of that year, a site was selected on the neighboring island of Gravina across the water.

Upon formal endorsement by the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA), work on the compact site began in April 1969, although major excavations did not begin until 1971. A year later, the construction of a terminal for the new airport was approved, and from then on the project really got underway, if you will. I’ll excuse the pun, I took off. In fact, it took little more than a year for the airport to begin operations.

Ultimately, the airport was finally ready to handle scheduled commercial flights on June 30, 1973, handling six Alaska Airlines flights that day. Interestingly, even though the airport had already been operating for more than a month, the airport’s official opening and inauguration ceremonies did not take place until early August, and it was not until later that year that the terminal was finally completed.

Photo: Darryl Brooks | Shutterstock

Since then, the airport has established itself as a major air hub for southeast Alaska and is approximately equidistant between Seattle and Anchorage. According to the Bureau of Transport Statistics, the airport handled approximately 302,000 passengers in the 12-month period ending August 2024, a slight year-on-year increase from 295,000 passengers the previous year.

Access is via a ferry

Around the world, many passengers choose to drive their car to their departure airport and pay for parking, or pay a taxi to do the ride for them. Alternatively, public transport via rail and bus services can be a practical way to reach many of the world’s major air hubs, with most having their own rail and bus stops. However, Ketchikan finds itself in a rather interesting situation due to its geographical location.

Photo: Sujatha Vempaty | Shutterstock

In particular, the island on which the airport was built has no direct road connection to the city of Ketchikan itself (and very few roads at all). Therefore, users of the facility have to cross the small body of water between the airport and the city by ferry. While other airports such as Venice (VCE) and London City (LCY) also have boat connections, the concept as a whole remains new.

According to the Ketchikan Marine Industry Council, ferries operate between 6:15 a.m. and 9:30 p.m., leaving the airport on the hour and half hour and the city at 15 and 45 minutes after. Passengers ages 12 and older pay $6 each way to ride the ferry, while children ages six to 11 only pay $3 each. However, people aged five and under do not have to pay a fee for use.

Photo: Ceri Breeze | Shutterstock

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough website notes that the MV Ken Eichner 2 ferry, built in 2013, operates year-round, while a second boat called the MV Oral Freeman (built in 2001) provides additional capacity in the summer months. This ship operates weekdays between 10:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. from the end of May to the end of August. Both ships are approximately 116 feet (35.4 m) long and 48 feet (14.6 m) wide.

The airport today

It appears that Ketchikan International Airport users will continue to rely on the short ferry ride to and from the city for the foreseeable future. Although a structure connecting the two bridges has been proposed in the past, known as the Gravina Island Bridge, it has been criticized from outside Alaska as a “bridge to nowhere.” As a result, plans for the $398 million bridge were scrapped in 2007, NBC reported.

Photo: Ramunas Bruzas | Shutterstock

Nevertheless, the airport seems to be thriving even without direct road access, as the recent increase in passenger numbers mentioned above shows. According to current schedule data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, 11,732 flights were scheduled to and from Ketchikan in 2024, for a total of 778,540 seats and 335,995,028 available seat miles (ASMs).

Of these, Alaska Airlines accounted for 41.3% of flights (4,842), but due to the use of larger jets from the Boeing 737NG and MAX families, 91.7% of seats (713,960). The airline’s flagship aircraft for flights to and from Ketchikan is the Boeing 737-700 with 2,158 flights, 267,592 seats and 111,513,448 ASMs in 2024. As for the destinations served by Alaska Airlines, Ketchikan sees flights to:

Photo: Carlos Yudica | Shutterstock

Delta Air Lines also has a limited presence on the Seattle-Ketchikan route, although only in the summer months with Delta Connection flights operated by SkyWest Airlines. Embraer E175 regional aircraft. Closer to home, Island Air Express flies Cessnas to Klawock, and Taquan Air’s DHC-2 Beavers serve various regional routes. But regardless of the route flown, the ferry across the water awaits every passenger.