The town of Ketchikan, located on the southeastern coast of Alaska, has a short but sweet list of characteristics that make it stand out from the crowd. Not only is it known for its colourful houses and the world’s biggest collection of standing totem poles, it also has an airport which can only be reached by boat.
Ketchikan is located on the Revillagigedo Island, meaning locals and tourists need to use a boat in order to reach it from the mainland. Yet one island wasn’t enough and thus the town’s airport has been built on yet another piece of isolated land, the Gravina Island.
@debdebp Taking the ferry to the airport in #ketchikan #islandlife #ketchikanlife #alaska #alaskaliving ♬ Luxury fashion (no vocals) – TimTaj
While some islands might have a bridge connecting them to other islands or the mainland, this isn’t the case for the Gravina Island. In the past, a bridge project was in the books and was granted $398 million in government funding but it soon became known as the “bridge to nowhere”, cancelling the fund and the project as a whole.
Since its opening in 1973, a ferry has thus been the only way to reach Ketchikan’s airport, which welcomed 302,000 passengers in the 12 months ending in August 2024, quite an impressive number given the fact that Ketchikan’s population lies at around 8,000 inhabitants.
Apart from locals, the airport is frequently used by tourists visiting the town and its beautiful surroundings – Ketchikan is known as “The Salmon Capital of the World”, making it the perfect destination for fishing enthusiasts. Film crews too make use of the airport, as Ketchikan was for example featured in Baywatch and MythBusters.
@somemountainsomewhere gotta take a car, a boat, and a plane any time we leave the island 🤭 #alaska #ketchikan #alaskalife #travel #granolagirl ♬ brazil intro – 🎧🏴
Ketchikan’s airport ferry runs all-day between 6:15 am and 9:30 pm, although those operating hours are extended during the summer season. Ticket fares start at $3 for children and go up to $6 for adults for a one-way ride. It takes approximately 7 minutes to travel between the airport and the town itself.
Those who prefer not to visit Ketchikan by plane and who are in for a longer boat journey should know that the Alaskan town is also a popular cruise port along the so-called Inside Passage. Moreover, multiple ferries service the town, with the journey from Bellingham, Washington, taking 36 hours.
