Valdez Pioneer Field (PAVD), Alaska
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Valdez Pioneer Field (PAVD / KVDZ / VDZ) sits at 128 feet elevation on Alaska's Prince William Sound, serving the city of Valdez with a single paved runway and non-towered operations. Business aviation traffic recorded by the FAA in 2025 totaled 718 operations, placing this field among Skystar's Tier 1 airports for documentation depth. Fuel is available in both 100LL and Jet A, and the field maintains attendance seven days a week, though customs clearance requires prior coordination rather than walk-up availability.
Runways
Valdez Pioneer Field has one paved runway, 06/24, 6,500 ft long and 150 ft wide, with an asphalt surface.
Runway geometry from published threshold coordinates. Not for navigation.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Fuel and airfield services
Valdez Pioneer Field has Jet A and 100LL available on the field. The airport has no control tower.
Source: FAA Form 5010 / NASR.
Customs
Valdez Pioneer Field has US Customs and Border Protection clearance available onsite, with general clearance for international arrivals.
Source: CBP list of ports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Valdez Pioneer Field recorded 718 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in September. Business aviation traffic at Valdez Pioneer Fld concentrates in the fall, with September and October together accounting for the two highest monthly operation counts of the year.
Business jet movements, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month September, 137 movements in 2025.
Source: FAA TFMSC, business jet movements, 2025.
Climate
Valdez Pioneer Field averages 29.8 freeze days in January and 11.3 snow days in December. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 64.1°F, and January the coldest, at 28.7°F.
Weather station is 3.1 NM from the field. Some values are estimated by the agency. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: NOAA NCEI.
Operating constraints
Valdez Pioneer Field has published operating constraints in three categories: runway notes, pavement strength and other notes.
MALSR lighting is activated for runway 06, along with REIL for runway 24, PAPI for runway 06, and HIRL for runway 06/24, all controlled via CTAF.
Alert: during strong north wind, wind at midfield and the east end of the runway may be much higher than AWOS indicates.
PCR VALUE: 407/F/A/X/T
Alert: see the special notice covering the Port Valdez area and general notices for Thompson Pass avalanche control activity.
A Potato Point weather camera is available online at https://weathercams.faa.gov.
Airport sand is larger than FAA-recommended size; see AC 150/5200-30.
This is a cold temperature airport. Altitude correction is required at or below -10C.
A 1,675 by 200 foot section of the southwest portion of the ramp is not maintained from November 1 through April 15.
Maintenance hours are Monday through Friday 0600-1830, and Saturday and Sunday 0800-1830.
Source: FAA Chart Supplement.
Nearby airfields
Valdez Pioneer Field has two airfields within 45 NM. The closest is Tatitlek (PAKA), 20.39 NM southwest.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at PAVD
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 PAVD.
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 customs available at PAVD?
Valdez Pioneer Field operates as a landing rights airport, which means prior CBP permission is required before an international arrival. Customs is not staffed on a walk-up basis, so crews must coordinate clearance in advance of any flight requiring it. There is no nearby customs airport listed as an alternate in the data, underscoring that arrangements have to be made directly for PAVD itself. Dispatchers planning international legs into VDZ should build this coordination step into trip planning rather than assuming onsite availability at arrival.
What runway is available at KVDZ, and how long is it?
PAVD has a single paved runway, 06/24, measuring 6,500 feet long and 150 feet wide with an asphalt surface. That length and width combination supports a range of business turbine traffic without a second runway option for crosswind conditions. There is no parallel or crosswind runway at Valdez Pioneer Field, so wind alignment with runway 06/24 matters for approach planning. The airport is non-towered, so runway and pattern coordination happens over CTAF rather than through a control tower.
Does PAVD have any special cold-weather procedures?
Valdez Pioneer Field is designated a cold temperature airport, and altitude correction is required at or below -10C. This affects published approach minimums and altitudes, since standard altimetry assumptions break down in sufficiently cold air. Crews flying into VDZ during winter months need to apply the appropriate cold-temperature correction to any charted altitude on approach. Given the climate data showing many days below freezing from October through March, this procedure is relevant for a large share of the operating season at this airport.
When is business aviation traffic busiest at Valdez Pioneer Field?
Business aviation traffic at Valdez Pioneer Field is concentrated in the fall months, with September and October showing the highest operation counts of the year according to FAA TFMSC data. September logged 137 operations and October logged 128, well above the counts seen in the winter and early spring months. December also shows an elevated count of 120 operations. Dispatchers scheduling trips into PAVD during this fall window should anticipate a higher volume of business aviation movements than during the spring and early summer.
Are there any wind-related hazards to know about at PAVD?
Valdez Pioneer Field carries an alert regarding strong north wind conditions, noting that wind at midfield and the east end of the runway can be significantly higher than what the AWOS indicates. This means the reported wind at the AWOS sensor location may understate actual conditions elsewhere on the runway during these events. Crews should treat AWOS wind readings at PAVD as a baseline rather than a complete picture during strong northerly flow. There is also a separate special notice covering the Port Valdez area and Thompson Pass avalanche control activity that pilots operating in the vicinity should review.