Business Aviation and Avgas: Alaska’s Liquid Lifeline

Aviation is integral to nearly every aspect of modern life. You’ve likely heard about Alaska’s unique dependence on it, but do you truly understand how deep that reliance runs? Maybe we don’t fully grasp what it means to live without roads, shipping trucks or doorstep deliveries. Or maybe, in an era of overnight everything, we can relate more than we think.

In February, the Alaska Air Carriers Association (AACA) hosted its annual conference in Anchorage. Ahead of the event, they invited representatives from the Eliminate Aviation Gas Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative, including NBAA, on a special tour west of the Alaska Range. The goal: to visit the cities and villages too often forgotten or misunderstood, and to witness aviation’s vital role in their everyday lives, especially as it applies to the transition away from leaded aviation fuel.

EAGLE is a coalition of associations and the FAA working to monitor, assist and communicate to users the process of finding and implementing a true replacement for 100LL avgas.

Related article: Working to Alleviate Alaska’s Avgas Anxiety

Neither Snow, Nor Rain, Nor…

The trip began with a 200-mile regional jet hop at dawn, sending the group over breathtaking mountains to Bethel. The weather was great, with several locals joking that it was “balmy,” since the warm-for-February 15 degrees Fahrenheit usually had a minus sign in front of the number.

The first stop was a hangar dedicated to the Bypass Mail program, which is Alaska’s version of last-mile logistics. Under this system, bulk shipments are handed to local charter operators for final delivery to remote villages with no road access. No 18-wheelers. No box trucks. No widebody, airliner-sized cargo jets.

In these villages, there is no Target or Walmart. Local stores and clinics don’t receive shipments via loading docks. Mail and cargo is life. It’s how everything from diapers and snack chips to bottled water and motor oil reaches its destination. If you can buy it in a store, someone here likely receives it shrink-wrapped on a pallet and flown in by a Cessna Caravan or similar aircraft.

Just like the cargo, the group of nine boarded a Cessna 208 Caravan, operated by Grant Aviation, for a 100-mile leg deeper into Alaska to reach St. Mary’s. Cruising at 1,200 feet, EAGLE guests had a clear view of Alaska’s sprawling terrain, even spotting moose below.

St. Mary’s is small, isolated and entirely dependent on air travel. Regardless, it still contains all of the local elements of Anytown, USA, including a post office, convenience shop, gas station, medical offices and more. Even so, when flying directly overhead at 1,000 feet, it’s hard to spot St. Mary’s amid the snow-covered landscape, and though the runway is paved, it’s still layered with a few inches of snow and ice.

Related article: Alaska Relies on Business Aviation Operators

Critical Infrastructure: Fuel and Health Care

The first stop was the Crowley fuel facility, located over five miles from the airport. This site has several large tanks that house a few different forms of fuel, and is home of the town’s only gas station for vehicles. The airport’s fuel truck lives there, too, and so does its lone employee, who rotates in for weeks at a time to fulfill requests.

Fuel arrives only twice per year by barge: once in spring when the Andreafsky River thaws, and again in the fall before it freezes. This delivery includes both Jet A and 100LL. Jet A’s similarity to kerosene-like fuel oil allows it to double as heating fuel. Yes, they use Jet A to warm homes and power other essential services.

The second stop on the tour was St. Mary’s Sub-Regional Clinic, which is the first stop for medical care for multiple surrounding villages. Again, aviation is the only way to reach it during most seasons. The team here is kind, caring, talented and capable, and yet, the facility has zero doctors on its staff; they have three people who are either physician assistants or nurse practitioners. Optometry, dentistry and other specialized needs can be performed here, but only when an optometrist visits, for example, which is once per month.

They can handle basic care, minor injuries, and even childbirth, though expecting mothers are usually flown to Anchorage in the final weeks of pregnancy. Anything serious requires a medevac flight to Bethel. For major trauma, that likely means Anchorage. But for critical cases, like burns, you’re looking at a four-flight journey to Seattle. That means that for major trauma, people in surrounding villages may be four flights away from care, all of which obviously being dependent on weather, aircraft and crew availability.

Despite all the SOPs, technology, regulations and efforts, upsets will still catch pilots unaware unless they are trained properly in how to respond to such situations – and how not to make them worse.

The Constant Variable of Weather

The flight back to Bethel was less scenic. What was previously a 30-minute hop in clear skies became a near-hour-long journey through a snow squall. At 5,000 feet and zero visibility, the passengers watched ice build up on the wings while the deice boots earned their keep. Alaska’s skies are unforgiving, but the crews and aircraft that operate here meet the challenge with grit and expertise.

It was a great example of why Alaska needs, and deserves, strong investment in technologies and personnel to help them have reliable, up-to-date weather information and navigational assistance to manage their skies.

Once through the storm, visibility returned and the aircraft landed smoothly on Runway 1R just in time for a hot meal and some reflection before the two-day conference began in Anchorage.

The Future of Fuel: Conference Insights

The AACA conference included two EAGLE sessions. The first, on Day One, was a presentation outlining the industry’s progress toward a viable unleaded avgas alternative, and explaining some of the technical challenges the industry faces, both chemically and in terms of supply chain.

Day Two featured a listening session with local operators and stakeholders. The questions and remarks from attendees were raw, honest and necessary. The message was loud and clear: Operators said they rely too much on aviation to take any chances with their fuel.

The EAGLE panel took it to heart. The team wanted to provide reassurance that this transition isn’t just about environmental progress, but is also about long-term supply chain stability and protecting access. And more importantly, that EAGLE will not allow this change to be complete until a truly safe, reliable and affordable replacement is ready for every user.

Different but the Same

Everyone in the room already knew Alaska depends on aviation. But seeing it firsthand deepened that understanding. From unleaded avgas to reliable GPS, weather infrastructure and the survival of the Bypass Mail system, aviation here isn’t just transportation – it’s the backbone of life.

While the challenges are more extreme in Alaska, the lesson holds nationwide: Aviation infrastructure is community infrastructure, and we all share the responsibility of protecting it.

Review NBAA resources about regional groups and issues at nbaa.org/regional.