Iliamna Airport (PAIL), Alaska
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Iliamna Airport (PAIL / ILI) sits in southwest Alaska at 192 feet elevation, serving as a hub point for regional air traffic in the Bristol Bay region. The field combines two paved asphalt runways with two designated water runways, reflecting the area's mix of wheeled and float operations, and recorded 2,899 total annual operations against 2,174 business aviation operations in 2025 per FAA TFMSC data. Multiple nearby airstrips and float plane basins, along with helicopter sling load activity in the surrounding area, make situational awareness on the common frequency a standing operational concern at PAIL.
Runways
Iliamna Airport has four runways. The longest, 08/26, is 5,086 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
Iliamna Airport has Jet A and 100LL available on the field. The airport has no control tower.
Source: FAA Form 5010 / NASR.
Customs
Iliamna Airport does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is 9Z3, 141 NM away.
Source: CBP list of ports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Iliamna Airport recorded 2,174 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in August. Traffic at Iliamna Airport (PAIL) is concentrated in the summer months, with business aviation operations peaking from June through September according to FAA TFMSC data.
Business jet movements, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month August, 297 movements in 2025.
Source: FAA TFMSC, business jet movements, 2025.
Climate
Iliamna Airport averages 27.3 freeze days in March. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 64.9°F, and January the coldest, at 24.8°F.
Weather station is on the field. Some values are estimated by the agency. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: NOAA NCEI.
Operating constraints
Iliamna Airport has published operating constraints in three categories: access, runway notes and other notes.
Snow and ice removal and hazard reporting occur during duty hours; exceptions require prior permission in writing from the airport manager.
When the flight service station is closed, activate the runway end identifier lights for runway 26 and 36, the precision approach path indicator for runways 18, 36, 08, and 26, and the medium intensity runway lights for runway 08/26 and 18/36, using the common traffic advisory frequency.
A tundra wheel gravel surface extends 275 feet before the asphalt at both ends of the runway; operations there are daylight only.
Taxiing occurs on active runways; locked brake turns on the runways are not authorized.
Personnel and equipment may be present on the runway.
Safety areas are soft.
Multiple airstrips and float plane basins are located in the vicinity of the airport, with low-level helicopter sling load operations within 25 nautical miles to the west-northwest; monitor the common traffic advisory frequency and self-announce upon entry.
Be alert: there is no line of sight between Iliamna, Pike Lake, and East Wind Lake/strip; see the traffic pattern and VFR arrival and departure procedures in the Section C notice.
Transient parking is marked with green cones.
Weather cameras are available on the internet at the FAA weather camera website.
Airport sand is larger than the FAA recommended size; see AC 150/5200-30.
Weather observations are provided from October 16 through May 14, between 0545 and 2145, on Iliamna weather frequency 133.75.
This is a cold temperature airport. Altitude correction is required at or below minus 26 degrees Celsius.
Source: FAA Chart Supplement.
Nearby airfields
Iliamna Airport has four airfields within 48 NM. The closest is Wilder Runway (PAKX), 32.04 NM northeast.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at PAIL
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.
$2,400.00 catering order at PAIL.
Unchanged.
What the kitchen invoices us is what your quote reads.
One line, fixed.
It does not move with the size of the order.
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 there customs service at PAIL / Iliamna Airport?
Iliamna Airport, PAIL, has no onsite customs service. The nearest customs facility is located at 9Z3, approximately 141 nautical miles away. Flights requiring customs clearance need to route through that facility or another designated port of entry before or after operating at PAIL. Dispatchers planning international legs through Iliamna should build this distance into routing and timing decisions, since no customs processing option exists at the field itself.
What runways are available at Iliamna Airport (PAIL)?
Iliamna Airport (PAIL) has two paved asphalt runways, 08/26 at 5,086 feet and 18/36 at 4,800 feet, both 100 feet wide. The field also has two water runways, an E / W strip at 2,998 feet and an N / S strip at 2,892 feet, each 400 feet wide. This mix supports both wheeled and float operations at the same location. Pilots should note that personnel and equipment may be present on active runways and that safety areas at PAIL are reported as soft.
What fuel is available at PAIL?
Iliamna Airport, PAIL, offers both 100LL and Jet A fuel on the field. This dual availability supports a mix of piston and turbine traffic operating through the airport. Fuel access should still be coordinated around the field's staffed attendance hours, since Iliamna is an uncontrolled airport with no operating tower. Operators should confirm fuel status directly ahead of arrival given the seasonal variation in attendance schedules at PAIL.
When is PAIL staffed and what are the attendance hours?
Iliamna Airport, PAIL, follows a seasonal attendance schedule. From October through May, staffing runs Monday through Friday from 0800 to 1630. From June through September, staffing shifts to Monday through Wednesday from 0600 to 1630, plus Thursday hours from 0600 to 1400 during that same summer window. PAIL is an uncontrolled field, so this attendance schedule applies to ground staff availability rather than air traffic control services, which are not present at the airport.
How does seasonal traffic vary at Iliamna Airport (PAIL)?
Traffic at Iliamna Airport, PAIL, concentrates heavily in the summer months. Business aviation operations peak in August at 297 movements and July at 282, compared with lows of 104 in February and 112 in November, based on FAA TFMSC data for 2025. This pattern reflects a strong summer traffic season at PAIL relative to the winter months. Dispatchers scheduling operations into Iliamna should expect noticeably higher activity levels from June through September than during the rest of the year.