Departure
90%
vs 95% ▼ 6
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Whittier Airport (PAWR) is a small, unattended general aviation airfield serving the remote cruise and fishing town of Whittier, Alaska, at the head of Passage Canal in Prince William Sound. It offers a single hard-surfaced runway aligned 04/22 and remains largely undeveloped, making it a niche destination for simulator pilots interested in Alaska's rugged coastal flying environment.
Whittier Airport is a small public-use general aviation field serving the town of Whittier, Alaska, a former military port and present-day cruise ship and fishing community on Prince William Sound. It has no based commercial operations or facilities of note, and its appeal to a simulator pilot lies chiefly in its dramatic setting among steep coastal mountains rather than in any operational sophistication.
The airfield sits at the head of Passage Canal on the west side of Prince William Sound, on the northeast shore of the Kenai Peninsula, about 58 miles southeast of Anchorage. Whittier itself is only reachable by rail, boat, or the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel through Maynard Mountain, and the airport lies close to the town, within the surrounding Chugach National Forest.
Whittier has a single physical runway, 04/22, with a hard surface measuring 1,365 feet in length. There is no ILS or other instrument approach equipment associated with the field.
No communications frequencies are published for Whittier Airport, and it has no known air traffic control or advisory service. Pilots should expect to operate on a self-announce basis using standard practice for uncontrolled Alaskan airstrips, coordinating as appropriate with any other traffic in the area.
No published circuit or joining procedures are available for this airfield. Given the surrounding high terrain of Passage Canal and the short single runway, pilots should plan approaches and departures with reference to local terrain and wind conditions rather than any formal circuit pattern.
The airfield lies close to the town of Whittier at the head of Passage Canal, with the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel portal and the town's harbor and prominent Begich Towers building serving as useful visual landmarks when approaching from the surrounding fjord.
The land around Whittier was historically used as a portage route by the Chugach people and later by prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush. During the Second World War the US Army built a major port and rail facility nearby, known as Camp Sullivan, which served as an entry point for soldiers into Alaska. Wikipedia records that the airfield's runway was originally designated 3/21 and was some 500 feet longer before being damaged in the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, after which it was rebuilt to its present alignment and length. Whittier itself was incorporated in 1969 and grew around the port, later becoming a stop for cruise ships once road access opened in 2000.
Whittier Airport remains a minimal facility with no reported based businesses, flying clubs, or airport services. According to Wikipedia the gravel runway is not maintained in winter, and traffic has historically been light, consisting mainly of general aviation and a small proportion of air taxi movements. The town also operates a separate seaplane dock for those arriving by floatplane.