Fly to Alaska: Airports, Flight Times, and Travel Tips

If you’re wondering how to get to Alaska, most travelers fly, and the right airport depends on where your trip begins. Small ship cruises usually start or finish in Juneau, Sitka, or Ketchikan, while land tours often leave from Anchorage or Fairbanks. Adventure Life Trip Planners can coordinate your hotels and transfers and connect you with a flight partner.

Why Fly to Alaska

Alaska lies off the northwest corner of Canada, water surrounds most of it, and much of it has no road access, so planes carry most visitors both into the state and between towns.

Nonstop flights reach Alaska from more than 20 US cities, among them Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and New York, though some run only seasonally. Many routes go through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the closest major airport to the state. Direct international service arrives from Tokyo, Frankfurt, Reykjavík, Vancouver, and Calgary.

Where you land shapes the rest of your trip, so it’s worth working with a Trip Planner to decide where you would like to visit in Alaska. This overview of where to go in Alaska compares the main options.

Where Should You Fly Into Alaska?

 
Fly into the airport closest to where your cruise or land tour begins. Alaska has three major airports, in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. Alaska Airlines also serves Sitka and Ketchikan, two common starting points for small ship voyages. Here’s what each of these airports in Alaska is best for:

Anchorage (ANC)
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is the largest and busiest in the state. Many land tours begin and end in Anchorage, including trips to Denali National Park, and a few expedition voyages depart from or finish here. The Alaska Railroad also stops in Anchorage on its route between Seward and Fairbanks.

Fairbanks (FAI)
Alaska’s second-largest city is the main transportation hub for the Interior, with flights to destinations worldwide. Some Denali land tours start or end in Fairbanks. So do 16-day land-and-sea trips, which spend time in Denali and Talkeetna before continuing by small ship to Juneau.

Juneau (JNU)
The state capital sits in the Inside Passage, and its airport is the gateway to Southeast Alaska’s coastal towns. Juneau is the start or end point for most of the small ship cruises Adventure Life offers, so it’s a common arrival airport for cruise travelers.

Sitka (SIT)
On Baranof Island, Sitka is reachable only by air or sea. Several 8-day voyages run between Sitka and Juneau, and the flight between the two takes about 45 minutes.

Ketchikan (KTN)
In the southern Inside Passage, Ketchikan anchors voyages to and from Juneau that last 8 to 12 days. Flights from Juneau take about 1 hour.

A few longer voyages begin farther afield. Some sail between Seattle or Vancouver and Southeast Alaska, lasting 8 days to about 2 weeks. Others leave from Seward, at the southern end of the Alaska Railroad.

Tips for Flying to Alaska

 
A few details make the journey smoother:

• Expect to land in one town and leave from another. Voyages are often one-way, such as Juneau to Sitka or Fairbanks to Juneau, so your arrival and departure airports may differ.
• Allow for a connection. Flights frequently route through Seattle, and short hops link towns within the state, such as Anchorage to Juneau in about 1.5 hours.
• Set your travel month first. Your dates decide which voyages are sailing and which flights you’ll need. This guide to the best time to take an Alaska cruise goes month by month.

Planning Your Time After You Land

Once you’re on the ground, a land tour, a cruise, or both can fill your days. Alaska land tours run 5 to 14 days. Shorter ones often begin and end in Anchorage and combine Denali with Seward and Kenai Fjords, while longer routes head north to Fairbanks.

Land tours can also be added before or after a cruise, so you could pair Denali with Glacier Bay in one trip. One traveler’s account follows that route, from a small ship in Glacier Bay to the train through Talkeetna and Denali. On a guided Denali outing, you may spot bears, moose, or caribou, and this guide to wildlife in Alaska covers what else lives here.

Booking early helps you get the voyage and travel dates you want. Adventure Life Trip Planners can then plan your hotel stays before and after and your transfers, and put you in touch with a flight partner, the kind of detail a flight search alone can’t sort out.