Deering Airport (PADE), Alaska
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Deering Airport (PADE / DRG) is a small public-use gravel-runway field on Alaska's northwest coast, unattended and without a control tower. Traffic is light, with FAA TFMSC data showing 734 annual operations in 2025, most of it business aviation.
Runways
Deering Airport has two unpaved runways. The longest, 03/21, is 3,320 ft long and 75 ft wide, with a gravel surface.
Runway geometry from published threshold coordinates. Not for navigation.
Runways are listed longest first.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Fuel and airfield services
The airport has no control tower.
Source: FAA Form 5010 / NASR.
Customs
Deering Airport does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is Nome (PAOM), 115 NM away.
Source: CBP list of ports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Deering Airport recorded 680 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in August. Business aviation traffic at PADE builds through spring and summer, peaking in August at 78 operations, and drops to its lowest levels in December and March.
Business jet movements, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month August, 78 movements in 2025.
Source: FAA TFMSC, business jet movements, 2025.
Climate
Deering Airport averages 31.0 freeze days in March. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 62.0°F, and January the coldest, at 3.8°F.
Weather station is on the field. Some values are estimated by the agency. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: NOAA NCEI.
Operating constraints
Deering Airport has published operating constraints in three categories: runway notes, environmental and other notes.
Runway condition is not monitored; a visual inspection prior to landing is recommended.
MIRL for runways 03/21 and 12/30, REIL for runway 03, and PAPI for runway 03 are pilot-activated on CTAF.
Runway 03/21 has nonstandard markings, marked with lights and plastic markers.
Runway 12/30 has nonstandard markings, marked with lights and plastic markers.
Runway 03/21 is plowed in winter.
The windsock is missing at runway 12.
Migratory birds, muskoxen, and other large animals are present on and near the runways.
The rotating beacon is pilot-activated on CTAF.
A weather camera is available online at the FAA weather cams website.
This is a cold temperature airport. Altitude correction is required at or below -39°C.
Source: FAA Chart Supplement.
Nearby airfields
Deering Airport has two airfields within 50 NM. The closest is Buckland (PABL), 39.82 NM east.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at PADE
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 PADE.
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 fuel available at PADE (Deering Airport)?
No fuel type is confirmed in current data for PADE, Deering Airport. Dispatchers should plan on carrying sufficient fuel or arranging support at a nearby field before operating into Deering.
What is the runway surface at Deering Airport?
Deering Airport has two gravel runways, 03/21 at 3,320 feet and 12/30 at 2,660 feet, both 75 feet wide. Runway 03/21 is plowed in winter, and neither runway surface condition is monitored, so a visual inspection prior to landing is recommended.
Is there customs clearance available at PADE?
PADE, Deering Airport, has no onsite customs service. The nearest customs facility is at PAOM, located about 115 nautical miles away.