Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
IATA: ANC – ICAO: PANC – FAA LID: ANC
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	State of Alaska DOT&PF
Serves	Anchorage, Alaska
Hub for	Passenger Alaska Airlines PenAir Cargo Atlas Air FedEx Express Polar Air Cargo UPS Airlines
Elevation AMSL	151 ft / 46 m
Coordinates	61°10′27″N 149°59′54″W / 61.17417°N 149.99833°W / 61.17417; -149.99833Coordinates: 61°10′27″N 149°59′54″W / 61.17417°N 149.99833°W / 61.17417; -149.99833
Website	www.dot.state.ak.us/anc/
Map
ANC Location of airport in Anchorage
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 7L/25R 10,600 3,231 Asphalt 7R/25L 12,400 3,780 Asphalt/Concrete 15/33 10,960 3,341 Asphalt
Helipads
Number Length Surface ft m H1 100 30 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations 289,472 Based aircraft 91 Passengers (2010) 4,976,557 Cargo (Tonnes) 2,421,145
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (IATA: ANC, ICAO: PANC, FAA LID: ANC)^[2] is a major airport in the U.S. state of Alaska, located 4 nautical miles (7 km) southwest of downtown Anchorage.^[1] The airport is named in honor of Ted Stevens, the U.S. Senator from Alaska serving from 1968 to 2009. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.^[3]

History

Built in 1951 as Anchorage International Airport, the airport was served in the 1950s by Alaska Airlines, Northwest Orient, Pacific Northern Airlines and Reeve Aleutian Airways, using aircraft ranging from Douglas DC-3s to Boeing 377s,^[4] and was also a refueling stop for Canadian Pacific Air Lines service to the Far East (one such aircraft being involved in a 1951 disappearance). From 1955 to 2011, the eastern end of the airport's southernmost runway connected to the Kulis Air National Guard Base, which was located on land leased by the airport.

Anchorage was a common stopover for passengers flying to East Asia until the late 1980s because Chinese and Soviet airspace were off-limits and because the first generation of jets and widebody airliners did not have the range to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. Carriers using Anchorage for this purpose included:

• Northwest Orient, the first airline to operate scheduled transpacific service after World War II, used Elmendorf Field^[5] and later Anchorage International as a stopover for service between US points (Seattle, Chicago and Minneapolis at various times) and Tokyo as late as the mid-1970s.^[6]
• Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) began a transpolar flight from Copenhagen to Tokyo via Anchorage in 1957.^[7]
• Japan Airlines served Seattle through Anchorage in the early 1960s,^[8] and offered service through Anchorage to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Düsseldorf and other European cities from the 1960s until as late as 1987.^[9]
• Air France, British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa and Sabena all used Anchorage as a stopover point between Europe and Tokyo into the 1980s.^[10]
• Korean Air used Anchorage as a stopover point for flights between Seoul and both Europe and the continental US in the 1980s.^[11] On September 1, 1983, one of these flights, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by a Soviet pilot who had mistaken it for a spy plane, after unintentionally violating Soviet airspace.

Most scheduled passenger service from Anchorage to Europe and Asia ceased in the early 1990s following the end of the Cold War. Korean Air continued to serve Anchorage on a scheduled basis until the early 2000s. China Airlines, the last Asian carrier to serve Anchorage on a regular basis, used Anchorage as an intermediate stop on its Taipei-New York route until 2011, when it rerouted these flights to stop in Osaka. While a few charter passenger aircraft still stop at Anchorage on flights between Asia and the eastern United States, scheduled cargo carriers – which benefit from more volume and thus shorter route segments – continue to use Anchorage frequently.

In the 1990s, Alaska Airlines and Aeroflot operated service from Anchorage to several destinations in the Russian Far East, including Khabarovsk, Magadan, Petropavlovsk, Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.^[12] Alaska Airlines pulled out of these markets in 1998 due to insufficient demand,^[13] while the Aeroflot services were primarily intended as technical stops en route to Seattle and San Francisco and were cancelled once newer aircraft and nonstop rights became available. Reeve Aleutian Airways, Dalavia and MAVIAL Magadan Airlines also offered service between Anchorage and the Russian Far East at various times, catering to Kamchatka oil exploration and other niche markets.^[14]

The airport was renamed in 2000 by the Alaska Legislature to honor then long-standing U.S. Senator Ted Stevens.^[15]

Passenger traffic

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport's passenger traffic has hovered around the five million mark for the last 10 years, apart from in 2002 when the airport suffered a 13% drop in traffic. Fairbanks and Juneau are the next busiest airports though neither managed more than half a million passengers last year. Anchorage traffic peaks in June, July and August when passenger numbers are twice as high as between October and April.^[16] Most major U.S. passenger carriers serve ANC, with the majority of passenger flight operations by Alaska Airlines to and from Seattle (an average of 20 flights per day) and Fairbanks (an average of 13 flights per day).

Anchorage is also envisioned as a future connecting point for air traffic to the Russian Far East. During the summer season 2008, there was one weekly flight to Russia by Vladivostok Air. Yakutia Airlines resumed summer seasonal service to Russia in 2012.^[17] Many of Alaska's North Slope workers live either in Anchorage or elsewhere in the Lower 48 states and fly through the airport to their jobs in Prudhoe Bay.

As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 2,599,313 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,^[18] 2,282,666 enplanements in 2009, and 2,342,310 in 2010.^[19]

International cargo hub

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is also a major cargo hub. As of 2010, it ranked as the fifth busiest airport in the world by cargo traffic, after Hong Kong, Memphis, Shanghai, and Seoul.

FedEx Express and UPS Airlines operate major hubs at Anchorage International for cargo heading to and from the Far East.^[16] NWA Cargo used to operate a major hub at the airport until December 28, 2009 when it closed all operations for Northwest Cargo at all airports. FedEx Express is the airport's largest cargo facility and can handle as many as 13,400 packages per hour, employing more than 1,200 people and providing a full customs clearance system. United Parcel Service's hub handles about 5,000 parcels per hour. Both companies forecast a large growth in traffic over the next several years as trade with China and other Far East countries increases and plan to expand their Anchorage facilities comparatively. The United States Postal Service also operates a large sectional center facility (SCF) for the 995xx ZIP Codes. It processes mail and parcels headed to and from all Alaska cities.

Facilities and aircraft

Runway layout at ANC

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport covers an area of 4,608 acres (1,865 ha) at an elevation of 151 feet (46 m) above mean sea level. It has three runways: 7L/25R is 10,600 by 150 feet (3,231 x 46 m) with an asphalt surface; 7R/25L is 12,400 by 200 feet (3,780 x 61 m) with an asphalt/concrete surface; 15/33 is 10,960 by 150 feet (3,341 x 46 m) with an asphalt surface. The airport also has one asphalt helipad that is 100 by 100 feet (30 x 30 m).^[1]

For the 12-month period ending October 28, 2011, the airport had 289,472 aircraft operations, an average of 793 per day: 37% scheduled commercial, 35% general aviation, 27% air taxi, and 1% military. At that time there were 91 aircraft based at this airport: 60% multi-engine, 17% helicopter, 12% jet, 10% single-engine, and 1% glider.^[1]

The FAA has forecast total operations for the year 2011 to be 261,375. By the year 2030 this number is expected to rise to 334,279 or 918.882 operations per day.^[20]

Terminals

The South Terminal (domestic) serves Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Condor (Departures), Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Sun Country, United Airlines and Virgin America. All regional intrastate carriers also use the South Terminal.

The terminal contains 3 concourses: Concourse A, Concourse B, and Concourse C. Concourse C was completely rebuilt in 2004 while Concourses A and B were built in 1985 and 1969 respectively and renovated in 2009.^[21] Architects HNTB and RIM Architects performed the architectural work for these projects.^[22] The north terminal also contains two L gates, numbered L1 and L2. These gates are outside security on the lower level and adjacent to Concourse A.

The North Terminal (international) serves Condor, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Icelandair, Yakutia Airlines, all international seasonal charter flights and military flights. In addition to these airlines, a few cargo airlines use the north side of the terminal for parking while their aircraft have small problems need maintenance for a day or so. This terminal was built in 1982.^[21]

Airlines and destinations

Roughly fifty destinations are accessible from ANC via nonstop or direct flights, including destinations in 14 U.S. states and the countries of Canada, Germany, Iceland, and Russia. U.S. mainline carriers operate a combination of year-round and seasonal service to the lower 48 states and Hawaii. Foreign carriers operate seasonal flights and seasonal charters to Asia and Europe, sold as bundled services. China Airlines terminated service to and from Taipei, due to availability of longer range aircraft (reducing the need for an incidental stop), compounded by $2.5 million levy by the TSA.^[23]

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Airline market share

Top destinations

Ground transport

Inter-terminal

A shuttle bus runs approximately every 15 minutes between the North and South terminals and the employee and long-term parking lots. A land-side inter-terminal walkway was completed in 2009. Air-side connections between the sterile areas of each terminal are not available.

To/from airport

Route 7A of the Anchorage People Mover bus system serves the airport's North and South terminals once every hour in each direction, connecting it with the downtown Transit Center and the Dimond Center mall.^[28][29]

Taxi queues are available in front of each terminal. Courtesy vans and other ground transportation options pick up from designated areas in front of each terminal.^[30]

Major national rental car chains are represented in an on-site consolidated rental car facility attached to the South terminal.^[31]

There is a rail station for the Alaska Railroad. It is only available during summer season for cruise ship service only.

Renovations

Renovations began on the A and B concourses in fall 2006. These renovations are designed to bring the older portions into compliance with current seismic, heating, ventilation, electrical and safety codes, and also include new baggage handling systems and renovations to the interior of the concourses.^[32] Since the completion of the construction, all domestic flights are operated out of the South Terminal.

Commissioned art pieces

• Euphony, 2004: Glass Artist – Warren Carther

The piece consists of nine towers of glass, collectively adding up to 42 meters (130 ft) of in span and reaching to 8 meters (26 ft) at its highest point. The series of panels are inspired by Alaska's immensely rugged landscape of glaciers and mountains. The ambiguous images embedded within the sculpture address Alaska's continual balancing of the forces of technology with the vast powers of the natural world.

Programs

The airport features an innovative customer service program, which partners with most on-site (and some nearby) vendors and concessionaires and aims to promote a positive image of the airport and the State of Alaska in the minds of travelers. This volunteer, self-funded committee mystery shops at partnering companies and provides awards of cash, free covered parking, and donated prizes to winning employees.^[33][34][35]

Accidents and incidents

• On March 27, 1964, the airport's control tower, then attached to the main terminal, collapsed during the Good Friday Earthquake. One person was killed.^[36]
• On October 1, 1970, Douglas R4D-6 N47 of the Federal Aviation Administration crashed shortly after take-off and was destroyed in the subsequent fire. The aircraft was operating a local training flight. Both crew were killed.^[37]
• On November 27, 1970, Douglas DC-8-63 of Capitol Airlines crashed on take off from Anchorage killing 47 of 229 passengers and crew on board.^[38]
• On November 6, 1974, Douglas C-47 N76 of the Federal Aviation Administration along with Lockheed L-188 Electra N7140C and NAMC YS-11A N172RV of Reeve Aleutian Airways were destroyed in a hangar fire.^[39][40][41]
• On January 13, 1977, Japan Air Lines Flight 8054 a McDonnell-Douglas DC-8-62F, crashed shortly after takeoff with a cargo of live beef cattle for delivery to Tokyo, Japan. The three crewmembers and the two cargohandlers aboard the aircraft died in the crash and the aircraft was destroyed. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was a stall that resulted from the pilot's control inputs aggravated by airframe icing while the pilot was under the influence of alcohol.^[42]
• On April 20, 1978, Korean Air Lines Flight 902 a Boeing 707 was shot down by the Soviet Air Force while flying from Paris, France to Anchorage, Alaska and continuing to Seoul, South Korea. Two passengers were killed in the Explosive Decompression and the flight was able to land on a frozen lake where the remaining passengers and crew were transported to safety and then flown out of the Soviet Union back to South Korea
• On December 4, 1978, a Learjet 25C en route from Juneau crashed upon landing. Onboard were U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, his wife Ann, lobbyist and former Alaska Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development (and future U.S. Ambassador to Brazil) Langhorne A. Motley, prominent Anchorage lawyer Joseph Rudd, and three others. The party were traveling from the second-term inauguration of Alaska governor Jay Hammond to an Anchorage fundraiser organized by Motley. Motley and Ted Stevens were the only survivors.^[43]
• On June 8, 1983, Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8's propeller separated from the Lockheed L-188 Electra and tore a hole in the fuselage over the Pacific Ocean causing an explosive decompression and loss of control. The pilots managed to land the aircraft safely at Anchorage and all 15 passengers and crew survived. Since the propeller fell into the sea the cause of the separation is undetermined.
• On, December 23, 1983 Korean Air Cargo Flight 084, a DC-10-30CF collided head-on with a Piper PA-31 Navajo while taxiing at the airport. All on board both aircraft survived.
• On March 31, 1993 a Boeing 747–121, Japan Airlines Flight 46E, operated by Evergreen International Airlines, departing Anchorage for Chicago, suffered a complete loss of the number 2 engine pylon at 2,000 ft after encountering extreme turbulence after takeoff. The aircraft then experienced an uncommanded left bank of approximately 50 degrees. The flight crew successfully landed the aircraft back at Anchorage International, to discover the number 2 engine and all of the leading edge of the wing between the number 1 and 2 engines had been torn away.^[44]
• On October 9, 2002, a Boeing 747-451, Northwest Airlines Flight 85 en route from Detroit to Tokyo, suffered a Lower rudder hardover. While flying over the Bering Sea the aircraft abruptly went into a 35 through 40-degree left bank after the Lower rudder had swung left 17° and hydraulic failure caused it to be stuck in place. Captain Frank Geib and First Officer Mike Fagan were at the controls at the time, having just taken over from Senior Captain John Hanson and First Officer David Smith. Geib declared an emergency and turned the aircraft back towards Anchorage. Hanson had returned to the cockpit and soon took over the controls. He and Fagan then flew the aircraft for over an hour before successfully landing in Anchorage. In order to steer the aircraft they had to use asymmetric engine thrust, or varying input into the engines as they were unable to use the ailerons at the time. No passengers or crew were injured, but the incident resulted in an airworthiness directive to prevent the possibility of a future accident.

References

External links

Media related to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (official site)
• Bureau of Transportation Statistics
• FAA Terminal Area Forecast
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective February 4, 2016
• FAA Terminal Procedures for ANC, effective February 4, 2016
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for ANC
  • AirNav airport information for PANC
  • ASN accident history for ANC
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations for PANC
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for ANC
  • Check current FAA delays for this airport