Departure
96%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Juneau International Airport (PAJN/JNU) sits on the shore of the Gawaii Channel some seven nautical miles northwest of downtown Juneau, Alaska, a city with no road link to the outside world. Owned by the City and Borough of Juneau, the airport is the regional air hub for Southeast Alaska and is known among pilots for its dramatic mountain and glacier scenery, its adjoining floatplane base, and the demanding terrain that surrounds its single paved runway.
Juneau International is a city-owned, public-use airport that also incorporates a seaplane base, reflecting the float-equipped bush flying culture of Southeast Alaska. It functions as the principal air gateway for Juneau, which has no highway connection to the rest of the state, and handles everything from Alaska Airlines jet services to small single-engine bush and helicopter traffic. For a simulator pilot the field offers a genuinely challenging approach environment, hemmed in by glaciated peaks and channel waters, making it a rewarding destination for mountain and coastal flying.
The airport lies about seven nautical miles northwest of Juneau's central business district, on the Gastineau Channel side of the Mendenhall Valley, with the Mendenhall Glacier visible in the background from the terminal area. Terrain around the field is mountainous and includes the Chilkat Range to the northwest, which has historically been a factor on approach. En-route traffic in the surrounding airspace is worked by Anchorage Center, and the field is served by its own control tower.
Juneau has a single physical runway, 08/26, 8,429 feet long with a hard (asphalt) surface. It is lit for night operations and runway 08 is equipped with an ILS approach. Field elevation is 23 feet above mean sea level.
The tower and CTAF both operate on 118.7 MHz. Ground control is on 121.9 MHz, and ATIS is broadcast on 135.2 MHz. An AWOS is available on 114 MHz. Flight Service can be reached on 122.2 MHz, with Anchorage Center on 133.9 MHz for en-route work. Unicom is on 122.95 MHz, with a miscellaneous frequency at 122.15 MHz and a national guard operations frequency at 124.65 MHz. Runway 08 has an ILS for instrument approaches.
The Mendenhall Glacier is a prominent landmark visible from the airport and forms a useful visual reference when inbound from the north. The surrounding terrain is mountainous, with the Chilkat Range rising to the northwest of the field; pilots should note this high ground when planning visual approaches, as it was a factor in the loss of an airliner on approach in 1971. The airport sits directly on the Gastineau Channel, giving a clear coastal reference for the runway environment.
During the Second World War, Juneau Airport served the United States Army Air Forces as a transport link between combat airfields being established in the Aleutians and bases in the mainland United States, and it was used by the Air Transport Command in facilitating the movement of Lend-Lease aircraft to the Soviet Union via Nome. In the postwar decades the airport became a key stop for major carriers: Pan American World Airways flew Douglas DC-4, DC-6B and Boeing 377 Stratocruiser services through Juneau from the late 1940s, followed by Pacific Northern Airlines with DC-4 and Lockheed Constellation propliners in the 1950s. The jet age reached Juneau in the early 1960s with Pan Am Boeing 707 services, and by the mid-1960s Pacific Northern was flying Boeing 720 jets before being absorbed into Western Airlines in 1967. Alaska Airlines began serving Juneau in the late 1960s following its acquisition of Alaska Coastal Airlines and Cordova Airlines, and has remained the dominant carrier since, operating Boeing 727, 737 and earlier turboprop and amphibian types including the Grumman Goose. On 4 September 1971, Alaska Airlines Flight 1866, a Boeing 727-100, crashed into the easterly slope of a canyon in the Chilkat Range while on approach to the airport, a stark reminder of the terrain challenges in the vicinity. Western Airlines returned to Juneau after an earlier withdrawal, and Delta Air Lines, following its 1987 merger with Western, operated services into the early 1990s and again on a seasonal basis from 2014.
Juneau International remains the principal air link for a city with no road access to the rest of Alaska, combining scheduled jet service from Alaska Airlines with general aviation, bush and floatplane operations from its associated seaplane base. The field has a control tower and full range of navigation aids including an ILS on runway 08, supporting instrument approaches in the often marginal Southeast Alaska weather. Ongoing master planning by the City and Borough of Juneau continues to shape the airport's facilities.