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Dillingham Airport (PADL) is a state-owned public-use airport in southwest Alaska, serving as the principal air gateway to the Bristol Bay region. It sits two nautical miles west of the city of Dillingham at the confluence of the Wood and Nushagak Rivers, and is a busy hub for scheduled, air-taxi and general aviation traffic linking dozens of surrounding villages.
Dillingham Airport is a state-owned, public-use aerodrome serving the city of Dillingham and the wider Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska. It functions as a regional hub, connecting Dillingham with Anchorage and with numerous smaller Bristol Bay communities whose own airstrips are often short, unpaved and usable only in clear weather. For a visiting VFR pilot it offers a long, lit paved runway with an instrument approach in an otherwise remote and sparsely served part of Alaska, making it a natural staging point for flights into the Bristol Bay backcountry.
The airport lies at the extreme northern end of Nushagak Bay, at the confluence of the Wood and Nushagak Rivers, about two nautical miles west of the central business district of Dillingham and roughly 327 miles southwest of Anchorage. It falls under the overlying jurisdiction of Anchorage Center. Shannon's Pond Seaplane Base lies about three miles west of the airport and is a useful nearby reference point for pilots operating on floats in the area.
Dillingham has a single physical runway, 01/19, oriented roughly north-south. It is 6,382 to 6,381 feet long depending on direction, has a hard (asphalt) surface, and is lit for night operations. Runway 19 is equipped with an ILS approach. Field elevation is 69 feet.
Traffic at Dillingham is coordinated on the CTAF of 123.6 MHz. An ATIS broadcast is available on 125 MHz, with an AWOS-3 automated weather observation on 135.55 MHz. Flight Service can be reached on 122.3 MHz, and the overlying Anchorage Center frequency is 132.75 MHz. Runway 19 has an ILS approach for instrument arrivals in the region's frequently poor weather.
The airport is readily identified by its position at the northern end of Nushagak Bay, where the Wood and Nushagak Rivers meet, with the city of Dillingham lying about two nautical miles to the east. Shannon's Pond Seaplane Base, some three miles west of the airport, serves as an additional visual landmark for pilots orienting themselves in the local area.
Dillingham Airport has long served as the principal air link for the Bristol Bay region, growing into a primary commercial service airport under the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems classification, reflecting more than 10,000 annual passenger enplanements. Passenger numbers recorded by the FAA show 32,215 enplanements in 2008, 29,374 in 2009 and 42,927 in 2010, reflecting the airport's steady importance to the region over time.
Dillingham Airport covers some 620 acres and supports a mix of scheduled, air-taxi and general aviation traffic, with around 50,892 aircraft operations recorded annually and 59 aircraft based on the field, mostly single-engine types alongside a handful of multi-engine aircraft and one helicopter. It is served by Alaska Airlines with flights to Anchorage, and by regional carrier Grant Aviation linking Dillingham to numerous smaller Bristol Bay communities including Bethel, Togiak, King Salmon, Manokotak and others. The airport underpins essential air services for the City of Dillingham and surrounding communities, many of which depend entirely on air transport for medical care and supplies.