Coordinates: 64°44′10″N 156°56′15″W / 64.73611°N 156.93750°W / 64.73611; -156.93750

Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport

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Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport
(former Galena Air Force Base)
File:GAL-i.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerState of Alaska DOT&PF – Northern Region
ServesGalena, Alaska
Elevation AMSL154 ft / 47 m
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Map
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Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8/26 6,000 1,829 Asphalt/Concrete
6/24 2,600 792 Gravel Ski Strip
Statistics (2022)
Aircraft operations19,000
Based aircraft0
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]
File:317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Convair F-102A-70-CO Delta Dagger 56-1257.jpg
Galena Airport was used by the USAF 317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Elmendorf AFB as a forward-deployed Base to intercept Soviet aircraft intruding on United States airspace over the Bering Sea. Depicted: Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, 1965.

Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (IATA: GAL, ICAO: PAGA, FAA LID: GAL) is a state-owned public-use airport located in Galena, a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska.[1]

As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 7,784 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[2] 7,447 enplanements in 2009, and 12,421 in 2010.[3] It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a non-primary commercial service airport (between 2,500 and 10,000 enplanements per year) based on enplanements in 2008;[4] however, it qualifies as a primary commercial service airport based on enplanements in 2010.

History

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As Galena Airport, it was used as a military transport base during World War II, facilitating the transit of lend-lease aircraft to the Soviet Union.

As Galena Air Force Station, it was used by the USAF during the Cold War as an interceptor base for aircraft patrolling the western areas of Alaska. It was downsized in 1993, but the military airfield is maintained by a private contractor as a weather/emergency diversion airfield since Regular Air Force fighter-interceptor alert operations ended.[5] It is now known as Galena Forward Operating Location.[citation needed]

Facilities and aircraft

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Edward G. Pitka Sr Airport covers an area of 1,250 acres (506 ha) at an elevation of 154 feet (47 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 8/26 is 6,000 by 100 feet (1,829 x 30 m) with an asphalt and concrete surface; 6/24 is 2,600 by 50 feet (792 x 15 m) with a gravel ski strip surface.[1]

The airport also sports a ski-jump takeoff ramp at one end and provisions for arresting gear (see picture, ski jump at 07 end) at the other, a leftover from the Cold War years as Galena Air Force Base, as tactical aircraft required more landing and takeoff space than was available on the runway.

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2022, the airport had 19,000 aircraft operations, an average of 52 per day: 68% general aviation, 16% scheduled commercial, 11% military, and 5% air taxi. At that time there was no aircraft based at the airport.[1]

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
Everts Air Fairbanks[6]
Wright Air Service Fairbanks, Huslia, Kaltag, Koyukuk, Nulato, Ruby[7]

Top destinations

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Busiest domestic routes out of GAL
(July 2023 – June 2024)[8]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Fairbanks, AK 7,180 Everts, Wright
2 Nulato, AK 1,690 Wright
3 Huslia, AK 1,110 Wright
4 Kaltag, AK 1,010 Wright
5 Koyukuk, AK 460 Wright
6 Ruby, AK 280 Wright

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for GAL PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. effective May 31, 2012.
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  5. ^ Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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