Departure
91%
vs 95% ▼ 5
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Valdez Pioneer Field (PAVD) is a state-owned public airport serving the port city of Valdez on Prince William Sound in southern Alaska. Renamed in 2000 in honour of the territory's pioneer aviators, it remains a vital link for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, the Valdez Marine Terminal and the wider Copper Valley basin, and offers VFR pilots a dramatic approach through mountainous coastal terrain. There is no control tower, so arriving pilots operate on a common traffic frequency amid Anchorage Center's oversight.
Valdez Pioneer Field sits a few miles from downtown Valdez, Alaska, on the shores of Port Valdez within Prince William Sound. It is a publicly owned airport of considerable strategic and economic importance, supporting the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System terminal, the Valdez Marine Terminal and the surrounding Copper Valley basin, and it is served under a federal Essential Air Service agreement by Reeve Air Alaska, operating as Arctic Legacy Aviation, with daily flights to Anchorage and Fairbanks. For the visiting VFR pilot it offers an interesting mix of coastal approach and mountain scenery, with the Chugach Mountains rising close to the field.
The airfield lies about three nautical miles east of the city of Valdez, on Alaska's south-central coast within Prince William Sound. There is no control tower at Valdez Pioneer Field; en route and approach traffic is worked by Anchorage Center. Other airfields in the vicinity, identified as supporting airports in planning for Valdez Pioneer Field, include Robe Lake (L93), Thompson Pass Airport (K55) and Whittier (PAWR).
The field has a single physical runway, 06/24, 6,476 feet long with a hard surface. The runway is lit and equipped with an ILS serving runway 06.
Valdez Pioneer Field broadcasts automated weather on AWOS at 118.8 MHz. Anchorage Center can be reached on 119.3 MHz, and the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) is 122.9 MHz. Juneau Radio, the flight service station, is available on 122.2 MHz. An ILS is provided for runway 06.
With no operating control tower, arriving and departing traffic uses the CTAF of 122.9 MHz to coordinate. The published traffic pattern is a right-hand circuit for runway 06 and a left-hand circuit for runway 24 (airport-data.com).
The airport lies close to Port Valdez and the city of Valdez, roughly three nautical miles to the east, with the surrounding Chugach Mountains providing a prominent and unmistakable backdrop for pilots inbound along the sound (airport-data.com).
The airport was renamed Valdez Pioneer Field on 1 May 2000 in honour of Alaska's pioneer aviators. It has long held strategic significance for the state, serving the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the Valdez Marine Terminal, and its role in handling heavy payload traffic was underscored by events such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, which required the airport to support large-scale response operations.
The airport remains state owned and open to public use, with no control tower on site. It is served by Reeve Air Alaska, operating as Arctic Legacy Aviation, under a federal Essential Air Service agreement providing daily scheduled flights to Anchorage and Fairbanks. It continues to support operations tied to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, the Valdez Marine Terminal and the Copper Valley region.