Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport

Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport
IATA: SIT – ICAO: PASI – FAA LID: SIT
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner State of Alaska DOT&PF
Serves Sitka, Alaska
Location Japonski Island
Elevation AMSL 26 ft / 8 m
Coordinates 57°02′50″N 135°21′42″W / 57.04722°N 135.36167°WCoordinates: 57°02′50″N 135°21′42″W / 57.04722°N 135.36167°W
Map
SIT

Location of airport in Alaska

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
11/29 6,500 1,981 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations 23,100
Based aircraft 30

Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (IATA: SIT, ICAO: PASI, FAA LID: SIT) is a state owned, public use airport located west of the central business district of Sitka, a city and borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.[1]

The airport is named after Sitka's former mayor Rocky Gutierrez. It features a single terminal with a jetway for the sole jet service provider, Alaska Airlines. There is a single runway on a paved causeway that juts off Japonski Island. Deceased tuberculosis patients from the nearby SEARHC/Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital were buried on airport grounds and had to be relocated during construction. That section of the airport is still unofficially called The Mausoleum.

As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 68,197 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[2] 62,498 enplanements in 2009, and 64,536 in 2010.[3] It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year).[4]

Facilities and aircraft

Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport resides at elevation of 26 feet (8 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 11/29 with an asphalt surface measuring 6,500 by 150 feet (1,981 x 46 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending January 2, 2011, the airport had 23,100 aircraft operations, an average of 63 per day: 43% air taxi, 43% general aviation, 8% scheduled commercial, and 6% military. At that time there were 30 aircraft based at this airport: 70% single-engine, 13% ultralight, 10% military, and 7% multi-engine.[1]

The airport also has hangars for air traffic control, Civil Air Patrol, and private enterprises. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka also has a complex attached to the airport for their helicopters but the installation almost never uses runway space for their operations.

Safety hazards include boulders from the causeway washing onto the runway during storms, high winds because of its exposed location, and large flocks of birds that live very close to the airport. Due to these hazards, the airport is listed by airfarewatchdog.com as one of the ten most thrilling landing experiences in the world. There was one time a special flight direct from Moscow operated by Aeroflot IL-95[5]

Airline and destinations

The following airline offers scheduled passenger service at this airport:

Airlines Destinations
Alaska Airlines Juneau, Ketchikan
Seasonal: Seattle/Tacoma
Delta Connection Seasonal: Seattle/Tacoma (begins May 15, 2015)

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes out of SIT
(Dec 2013 - Nov 2014) [6]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Seattle/Tacoma, WA 32,000 Alaska
2 Juneau, AK 21,000 Alaska
3 Anchorage, AK 15,000 Alaska
4 Ketchikan, AK 3,000 Alaska

Media appearances

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 FAA Airport Master Record for SIT (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  4. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.
  5. ↑ . "Sitka Airport Big Thriller?". Sitka Sentinel (Sitka, Alaska: Vestovia Corp.). July 1, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2011. (subscription required)
  6. ↑ http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=SIT&Airport_Name=Sitka,%20AK:%20Sitka%20Harbor%20Sea%20Plane%20Base&carrier=FACTS

External links