News / Call for improvements after 'cascade of delays' at Anchorage Airport

Aircraft flying over Alaska Photo: © Roza

Cargo operations are back to normal at Anchorage Airport (ANC) after unprecedented snowstorms caused a “cascade of delays”.

But the spotlight is now on the hub to invest in “more and better cargo infrastructure”, said Sean Dolan, CEO of investor NorthLink Aviation. 

Despite ANC last year being the third busiest cargo airport in the world, its cargo infrastructure has not expanded in more than 20 years.   

The airport was hit by a major storm on 8 November that left 17 inches of snow – and just as operations were beginning to recover, another storm, on 13 November, dropped a further 8.7 inches of snow. 

This had a huge impact on cargo operations and saw many aircraft parked on taxiways for extended periods. One was reportedly stuck for 14 hours.

“It took the airport a while to bounce back,” said Mr Dolan. “If you can’t find a place to park the planes, it makes it harder to get them turned, which means they are on the ground longer, which leads to more snow accumulation on the plane, which leads to longer de-icing times, which leads to further delays,” he explained.  

The snowstorm also caused multiple diversions. Two Kalitta Air 747-400Fs were reportedly forced to land at Whitehorse Airport in Canada, while other aircraft are said to have diverted to Seattle, Portland in the US and Fairbanks in Alaska.  

Mr Dolan told The Loadstar: “Climate change is real.  Anchorage seems to be getting hit with more and more snow and earlier in the year… Last year a similar situation occurred in December.” 

One major issue has been that the hardstands at ANC have no overhead lighting – which cannot currently be installed “given the configuration of the airport and FAA safety requirements”, he said.  

“Nobody would park their nice car in a parking lot without any lighting. Why would you park your 747 freighter in the dark?” he asked.  

Northlink Aviation holds a 55-year lease for the 120-acre South Park Campus at ANC and is looking at developments that will “very effectively address the need for new and much better cargo infrastructure at the airport”. 

Sponsored by Tiger Infrastructure Partners, a New York-based infrastructure investment fund, the company is building a cargo terminal with space to park up to 15 747-8Fs.   

“Our terminal will have excellent lighting, AI-powered camera technology, 400hz ground power, a ground service equipment facility next to the hardstands, proper spacing of aircraft and more,” explained Mr Dolan.