Birchwood Airport (PABV), Alaska
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Birchwood Airport (PABV) is an unattended public-use field near Anchorage, Alaska, offering 100LL fuel and two paved runways. Business aviation traffic here is limited, reflecting the airport's role as a general aviation and sailplane operations field rather than a corporate destination.
Runways
Birchwood Airport has two paved runways. The longest, 02L/20R, is 4,012 ft long and 100 ft wide, with an asphalt surface.
Runway geometry from published threshold coordinates. Not for navigation.
Runways are listed longest first.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Fuel and airfield services
Birchwood Airport has 100LL available on the field. The airport has no control tower.
Source: FAA Form 5010 / NASR.
Customs
Birchwood Airport does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is Merrill Field (PAMR), 16 NM away.
Source: CBP list of ports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Birchwood Airport recorded 28 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in August. Business aviation traffic at PABV is concentrated in August, according to FAA TFMSC data, with most other months seeing minimal or no activity.
Business jet movements, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month August, 21 movements in 2025.
Source: FAA TFMSC, business jet movements, 2025.
Climate
Birchwood Airport averages 0.4 days above 90°F in June and 30.3 freeze days in December. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 70.5°F, and January the coldest, at 21.0°F.
Weather station is 5.7 NM from the field. Some values are estimated by the agency. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: NOAA NCEI.
Operating constraints
Birchwood Airport has published operating constraints in three categories: access, runway notes and other notes.
The middle 1,500 feet of taxiway A is designated for ultralight and ski/tundra tire equipped aircraft; parallel operations are not available, so aircraft must sequence on CTAF.
Helicopters should avoid the fixed-wing and ultralight traffic pattern.
VASI on runway 20R is pilot-activated; MIRL on runway 02L/20R is CTAF-activated. VASI on runway 20R activates with 7 clicks.
Ski and tundra tire runway.
The first 600 feet of runway 20L end is asphalt; the remainder is gravel.
A road crosses the centerline 10 feet from the threshold.
A cataloged obstruction exceeds a 45-degree slope.
Runway condition is unmaintained; a visual inspection before landing is recommended.
Caution: sailplane operations.
Humps and ruts present.
Transient parking is available; a fee applies after 24 hours.
A weather camera is available online at https://weathercams.faa.gov.
Winter maintenance is not available.
Source: FAA Chart Supplement.
Nearby airfields
Birchwood Airport has five airfields within 17 NM. The closest is Wasilla (PAWS), 9.40 NM north.
Part of the Southern Alaska area.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at PABV
We arrange catering, fuel and trip support here. Supplier prices reach you unchanged; our coordination fee sits on its own line.
The same order, priced two ways.
$600.00 catering order at PABV.
Unchanged.
What the kitchen invoices us is what your quote reads.
One line, fixed.
The $75 minimum applies below $862.50.
At cost.
Passed on at the exact amount the processor took.
Market practice figures are industry averages, not a specific competitor.
Frequently asked questions
Is Jet A fuel available at PABV?
Birchwood Airport (PABV) does not stock Jet A. Only 100LL avgas is available onsite, and the field is unattended, so fuel purchases depend on self-service arrangements rather than staffed support.
What runways does Birchwood Airport (PABV) offer?
PABV has two paved runways: 02L/20R at 4,012 feet by 100 feet, and 02R/20L at 1,802 feet by 50 feet with an asphalt-gravel surface. The shorter runway also carries ski and tundra tire operations.
Is customs clearance available at Birchwood Airport?
Birchwood Airport (PABV) has no onsite customs service. The nearest customs point is Anchorage (PAMR), about 15.55 nautical miles away, so arriving flights needing clearance must route there instead.