Construction began September 21, 1941, and the airfield was activated July 4, 1942; it was known as Bethel Air Base. It was used by Air Transport Command as auxiliary airfield for Lend-Lease aircraft being flown to Siberia. The facility was transferred to Eleventh Air Force, then to Alaskan Air Command in 1945; it became the joint-use Bethel Airport. It was used for construction of AC&W Bethel Air Force Station in the mid-1950s. Full jurisdiction was turned over to Alaska Government in 1958.[5]
Facilities and aircraft
Bethel Airport covers an area of 1,056 acres (427 ha) at an elevation of 129 feet (39 m) above mean sea level. It has three runways: 1L/19R is 6,400 by 150 feet (1,951 by 46 m) with an asphalt surface; 1R/19L is 4,000 by 75 feet (1,219 by 23 m) with an asphalt surface; 12/30 is 1,858 by 75 feet (566 by 23 m) with an asphalt/gravel surface.[1]
For the 12-month period ending March 31, 2018, the airport had 122,000 aircraft operations, an average of 334 per day: 54% air taxi, 41% general aviation, 4% scheduled commercial, and 1% military. At that time there were 112 aircraft based at this airport: 86% single-engine, 6% multi-engine, 6% helicopter, and 2% military.[1]
