Valdez Pioneer Field
VDZ · PAVD · Valdez, Alaska · Valdez-Cordova County · map
Valdez Pioneer Field is a public-use airport, 3 miles east of Valdez, Alaska, 128 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 06/24, is 6,500 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 35 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 10,300 takeoffs and landings a year. About 2,898 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Valdez Pioneer Field?
Its FAA code is VDZ, and its ICAO code is PAVD.
Where is Valdez Pioneer Field?
It is 3 miles east of Valdez, Alaska, 128 feet above sea level.
How long is the runway at Valdez Pioneer Field?
Its one runway, 06/24, is 6,500 feet long, asphalt.
Does Valdez Pioneer Field have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Valdez Pioneer Field?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A.
Where can you fly nonstop from Valdez Pioneer Field?
Airline flights go to 8 airports, the busiest of them Ted Stevens Anchorage International, Fairbanks International, Valdez Pioneer Field, Gulkana, Cordova Municipal. Every route
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Valdez Pioneer Field?
1 aviation medical examiner 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 Valdez Pioneer Field…
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 VDZ · ICAO PAVD
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Elevation
- 128 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- January to December, Monday to Friday, 6:00 am to 6:30 pm; January to December, weekends, 8:00 am to 6:30 pm
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A; the services card below
- Notes
- certified for airline service (Part 139)
- On the chart
- Anchorage sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 19E
- In the FAA's files since
- October 1952
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06/24 | 6,500 × 150 ft | Asphalt, good | High-intensity lights |
- Runway 06: LDA with DME, PAPI, four lights on the left, medium-intensity approach lights with runway alignment lights (MALSR), right-hand traffic pattern, trees 55 ft high 2,100 ft from the end
- Runway 24: trees 77 ft high 1,580 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) | 122.9 | |
| Vdz and aWOS-3P | 118.8 | |
| Johnstone Point Center (remote transmitter) Low/high | 119.3 | |
| Valdez and rco | 121.5 | Valdez |
| Valdez and rco | 122.2 | Valdez · Communications provided by juneau Flight Service on frequency 122.2 (Valdez rco). |
Automated weather (AWOS-3P), by phone 907-560-7614.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: minor repairs
- Also here
- cargo handling
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Robe Lake Seaplane Base (4 nm southeast).
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
- Activate approach lights (MALSR) runway 06; runway end identifier lights runway 24; PAPI runway 06; high-intensity runway lights runway 06/24 - the common traffic frequency.
- Alert: durg strong north wind; midfield and east end runway wind may be much hyr than automated weather (AWOS) indcd.
- Alert: see spl notice - port Valdez area and genots - thompson pass avalanche control.
- Airport sand lrgr than FAA recommended/see AC150/5200-30.
- Cold temperature airport. Altitude correction required at or below -10C.
- 1675 an X 200 feet southwest ptn of ramp not mntnd nov 1 - apr 15.
- Maintenance hours MON-FRI 6:00 am to 6:30 pm; Saturday and Sunday 8:00 am to 6:30 pm.
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 500 departures from VDZ in those twelve months, carrying 1,268 passengers in 3,814 seats (33% filled), to 9 destinations on 4 airlines.
All 9 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 | 25 |
| multi-engine | 1 |
| helicopters | 7 |
| other | 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 10,300, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| airline | 500 |
| air taxi and commuter | 3,800 |
| general aviation, travelling | 3,000 |
| general aviation, local | 2,500 |
| military | 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 Valdez from the FAA register
26 aircraft are registered to owners in Valdez, Alaska: 24 piston singles, 1 helicopter, 1 drone. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
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
Charter operators and airlines based in Valdez:
- Vertical Solutions 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
No pilot examiner is based within 50 nautical miles, as far as the FAA's list places them. Also nearby: 1 aviation medical examiner.
All 1 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
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 · 5 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.
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Valdez 26 aircraft · 24 piston singles, 1 helicopters, 1 drones
- Vertical Solutions LLC 1 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC) 338 flights in twelve months · Reeve Air Alaska, LLC, Junipogo, LLC
- Fairbanks International (FAI) 88 flights in twelve months · Reeve Air Alaska, LLC
- Valdez Pioneer Field (VDZ) 61 flights in twelve months · Maritime Helicopters, Inc.
- Gulkana (GKN) 7 flights in twelve months · Reeve Air Alaska, LLC, Junipogo, LLC
- Cordova Municipal (CKU) 2 flights in twelve months · Maritime Helicopters, Inc.
- Anchorage (DQL) 1 flights in twelve months · Maritime Helicopters, Inc.
- Homer (HOM) 1 flights in twelve months · Maritime Helicopters, Inc.
- Middleton Island (MDO) 1 flights in twelve months · Reeve Air Alaska, LLC
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 5 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 5 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/VDZ.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.