Big Lake Airport
BGQ · PAGQ · Big Lake, Alaska · Matanuska-Susitna County · map
Big Lake Airport is a public-use airport, 1 mile southeast of Big Lake, Alaska, 162 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 07/25, is 2,450 feet of gravel. It has about 70 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The receiver network heard 1 different aircraft arrive or depart here in the last seven days. The FAA counts about 9,500 takeoffs and landings a year.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Big Lake Airport?
Its FAA code is BGQ, and its ICAO code is PAGQ.
Where is Big Lake Airport?
It is 1 mile southeast of Big Lake, Alaska, 162 feet above sea level.
How long is the runway at Big Lake Airport?
Its one runway, 07/25, is 2,450 feet long, gravel.
Does Big Lake Airport have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
Where can you fly nonstop from Big Lake Airport?
Airline flights go to 2 airports, the busiest of them Merrill Field, Skwentna. Every route
Are there flight schools at Big Lake Airport?
4 flight schools, flying clubs or college flight programmes are based within about 15 miles of it, including Alpha Kilo Aviation LLC and Alaska Star Flying Club. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Big Lake Airport?
15 pilot examiners and 15 aviation medical examiners work within 50 nautical miles. See them by name
Weather and planning now, the forecast, warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions
Fetching the weather now, the forecast, the warnings in force, pilot reports and the winds aloft for Big Lake Airport…
Wind map live wind over the area, from Windy.com
Colours show wind speed, the moving lines its direction; drag the time bar for the coming days. Map and forecast by Windy.com.
The airport facts, runways, radio, fuel and services, the FAA's remarks
The airport
- Codes
- FAA BGQ · ICAO PAGQ
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Elevation
- 162 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- unattended
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- no fuel reported; the services card below
- On the chart
- Anchorage sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 15E
- In the FAA's files since
- May 1951
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07/25 | 2,450 × 70 ft | Gravel, good | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 07: trees on the approach
- Runway 25: trees on the approach
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) | 122.8 | |
| Approach and departure · Class C airspace | 118.6 |
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- none reported
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- tie-downs
Nearest fields reporting jet fuel: Wasilla Airport (8 nm east), Alaska Regional Hospital Heliport (19 nm south), Merrill Field (19 nm south), Lake Hood Airport (21 nm south).
Nearest fields reporting avgas: Wasilla Airport (8 nm east), Birchwood Airport (11 nm southeast), Willow Airport (15 nm northwest), Alaska Regional Hospital Heliport (19 nm south).
The FAA's file records what is sold and done at the field, as the airport manager reports it, not who sells it or the price; fuel sellers (FBOs) are not named in any public file. Airports selling jet fuel in Alaska · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Low flying aircraft in the vicinity of approach to Big Lake VOR.
- Activate medium-intensity runway lights runway 07/25 - 122.8
- Runway condition not monitored; recommend visual inspection prior to use.
- Updraft off of rising hill on approach to runway 25.
- Runway 07+15' road parallel to runway end.
- 190 feet above ground level lighted tower 2 NM northeast of airport.
- Be alert: occasional ultra light traffic.
- Airport has designated transient aircraft parking available. Transient aircraft parking is designated with green cones.
- Be alert: frost heave on runway approximately 2200 feet.
Flights and activity in the air now, the airlines, based aircraft, takeoffs and landings
Activity now checking the volunteer receiver network…
Within ten miles
- Looking…
Arrivals and departures, last hour
- Looking…
From the volunteer receiver network, a few minutes behind at most; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out; no person is named. Open the live map here.
Scheduled and charter flights from here the DOT's airline reports · August 2025 to July 2026
Airlines reported 2 departures from BGQ in those twelve months, carrying 2 passengers in 8 seats (25% filled), to 2 destinations on 1 airline.
| Where to | Flights | Passengers | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lake → Merrill Field BGQ–MRI | 1 | 0 | Spernak Airways Inc. |
| Big Lake → Skwentna BGQ–SKW | 1 | 2 | Spernak Airways Inc. |
All 2 destinations, the airlines and the aircraft, month by month
From the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' T-100 table: every segment an airline reported flying, three months in arrears. Private, business and training flights are not in it; the live picture is in the activity card.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 66 |
| multi-engine | 2 |
| helicopters | 2 |
The FAA's count is the general-aviation aircraft kept on the field (singles, twins, business jets, helicopters) from its Terminal Area Forecast, the latest year with an actual count; airline fleets are never counted as based anywhere, so a big airline airport shows a small number. The aircraft heard arriving or departing are the site's own record from the volunteer receiver network, airliners included; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out. The register section below shows how many aircraft are registered to owners in town, a different measure again.
Takeoffs and landings a year about 9,500, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| general aviation, travelling | 8,000 |
| general aviation, local | 1,500 |
Local flights stay in the traffic pattern or nearby, often practice; travelling flights arrive from or leave for somewhere else. Counts at airports without a tower are the FAA's estimates. How this compares nationally: Airports by the numbers.
Who flies and works here aircraft registered in town, the companies, the examiners nearby
Aircraft registered in Big Lake from the FAA register
110 aircraft are registered to owners in Big Lake, Alaska: 101 piston singles, 4 helicopters, 2 piston twins, 1 turboprop, 1 weight-shift or powered parachute. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Companies and organisations in town with two or more aircraft:
Individuals are counted, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in Alaska.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes based within about 15 miles:
- Alpha Kilo Aviation LLC 6 aircraft · Wasilla, 9 miles away Alpha Kilo Aviation LLC is a flight school based in Wasilla, Alaska and operating seasonally in the Phoenix area (Ak-Chin Regional Airport, Maricopa, Arizona).
- Alaska Star Flying Club 2 aircraft · Wasilla, 9 miles away
- Mat-Su Helicopter Training LLC 1 aircraft · Wasilla, 9 miles away
- Northern Peaks Flight Training LLC 1 aircraft · Wasilla, 9 miles away
Charter operators and airlines based in Big Lake:
- Fly8Ma LLC 1 aircraft on the certificate Fly8Ma LLC operates an online flight training platform offering ground school courses for private pilot, instrument rating, commercial pilot, and other aviation certifications.
- Adam G. Sholton CO., LLC 1 aircraft on the certificate
Companies in the same town as this airport, and schools within about 15 miles of it (each placed at the main public airport of its town, or at the town's centre); not every one of them works from this field. All operators · all repair stations · all flight schools · all FBOs.
Examiners and inspectors nearby designated by the FAA · within 50 nautical miles
15 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 14 for private pilot, 12 for commercial and instrument, 9 for airline transport pilot, 11 for flight instructor, 3 for sport pilot, 3 for type ratings; 12 for airplanes, 10 for multi-engine airplanes, 8 for seaplanes, 3 for helicopters, 1 for gliders. Also nearby: 15 aviation medical examiners, 2 mechanic examiners, 5 airworthiness representatives (maintenance), 3 airworthiness representatives (manufacturing), 8 engineering representatives, 1 aircraft dispatcher examiner, 8 aircrew program designees.
- Martin Eric Hinshaw private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes, seaplanes, multi-engine seaplanes · Alaska Flight Academy · Wasilla, AK (8 nm) · (907) 947-4052 · [email protected]
- Ray Larue Hodges private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes, seaplanes · Wasilla, AK (8 nm) · (907) 232-6102 · [email protected]
- Stacia Joyce private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor, commercial pilot, instructor renewals; helicopters · wasilla, AK (8 nm) · (907) 350-1001 · [email protected]
- Dean Stewart Paulson private pilot; airplanes, seaplanes · Anchorage FSDO · Eagle River, AK (13 nm) · (907) 230-9628 · [email protected]
- Walter Maurice Warner private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor; airplanes, seaplanes · Willow, AK (15 nm) · (907) 232-2560 · [email protected]
- Rex Lee Gray private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes, seaplanes · Palmer, AK (21 nm) · (907) 841-7116 · [email protected]
- Brenton Kennedy private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, sport pilot, type ratings; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes, multi-engine seaplanes · anchorage, AK (22 nm) · (907) 240-8707 · [email protected]
- Carol Zerbe private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes, seaplanes · Anchorage, AK (22 nm) · (907) 350-6607 · [email protected]
All 57 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- DPE: Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings.
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
- DME: Designated Mechanic Examiner: tests candidates for the mechanic certificate (airframe and powerplant).
- DAR-T: Designated Airworthiness Representative, maintenance: issues airworthiness certificates and approvals for aircraft in service.
- DAR-F: Designated Airworthiness Representative, manufacturing: issues airworthiness certificates for newly built aircraft and parts.
- DER-T: Designated Engineering Representative: approves engineering data for repairs and alterations on the FAA's behalf.
- DADE: Designated Aircraft Dispatcher Examiner: tests candidates for the dispatcher certificate.
- APD: Aircrew Program Designee: an airline's own check pilot who gives the FAA's tests to the airline's pilots.
Designees are listed with the name and contact details the FAA publishes for them on its designee locator (read October 10, 2026): the FAA lists them so that pilots, mechanics and companies can find them. Private individuals are not named, the site's policy at this time. A designee who would rather not appear here can ask us through the contact address on the About page. Each designee is placed at the main public airport of the town the FAA lists (or the nearest one to its zip code), so "nearby" means the town, not an exact address. All examiners by state.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 20 since 1982, 1 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English. The country as a whole: Where accidents happen.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Big Lake 110 aircraft · 101 piston singles, 4 helicopters, 2 piston twins
- Retroair Restoration LLC 5 aircraft in town
- Fly8Ma LLC 5 aircraft in town
- Northern Pioneer Helicopters LLC 3 aircraft in town
- Upper Limit LLC 2 aircraft in town
- Fly8Ma LLC 1 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- Adam G. Sholton CO., LLC 1 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- Alpha Kilo Aviation LLC 6 aircraft · flight school
- Alaska Star Flying Club 2 aircraft · flying club
- Mat-Su Helicopter Training LLC 1 aircraft · flight school
- Merrill Field (MRI) 1 flights in twelve months · Spernak Airways Inc.
- Skwentna (SKW) 1 flights in twelve months · Spernak Airways Inc.
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 20 since 1982 · 1 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,930 since 1982 · 824 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in Alaska 392 landing places
- Alaska 9,145 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/BGQ.json.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 29, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 29, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.