Amazon extends air cargo service with new gateway site in Alaska

Mega-retailer Amazon today said it has launched daily flight service through its fast-growing Amazon Air cargo division to the company’s most northern gateway hub in the world, located in in Fairbanks, Alaska.

The service will begin Thursday evening when an Amazon Air-branded 737 cargo jet taking off from from Portland, Oregon, touches down at the new air gateway at Fairbanks International Airport.

The new facility will include an onsite area to sort packages bound for their next destination and will be managed by an Amazon logistics partner, Naniq Global Logistics LLC. Local officials praised the move to create more than 50 new jobs in the area.

“We’ve been looking forward to welcoming Amazon Air at their new gateway at Fairbanks International Airport,” Angie Spear, Fairbanks International Airport Manager, said in a release. “This new location will expand Amazon’s presence, not only in Fairbanks, but in some of the most rural areas in the region. Throughout the last year especially, they’ve focused on getting necessary items to customers quickly and efficiently and we’re honored to be a part of those efforts here in our backyard.”

In recent months, Seattle-based Amazon has invested heavily in its air division, opening a series of new cargo hubs—such as Florida and California—and buying or leasing dozens of new airplanes, including some that were converted from passenger to freight use to gain capacity during the pandemic.

“The addition of this gateway in Fairbanks allows us to deliver items to our customers faster, while gaining the ability to deliver to areas of Alaska that were not previously serviced by Amazon Air,” Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon Global Air, said in a release. “Fairbanks International Airport, the city of Fairbanks, and Naniq Global Logistics, LLC, have been excellent partners through this process and we’re looking forward to serving the people of Alaska more efficiently together.”