View source for Merrill Field

{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Lead too short|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox airport
| name                = Merrill Field
| image               = Diagram of Merrill Field (MRI), an airport in Anchorage, Alaska, United States.jpg
| image2              = 
| caption             = 
| IATA                = MRI
| ICAO                = PAMR
| FAA                 = MRI
| type                = Public
| owner               = Municipality of Anchorage
| operator            = 
| city-served         = 
| location            = [[Anchorage, Alaska]]
| elevation-f         = 137
| elevation-m         = 42
| website             = [http://www.muni.org/departments/merrill_field/pages/default.aspx Merrill Field]
| coordinates         = {{coord|61|12|49|N|149|50|40|W|region:US-AK|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map         = USA Alaska Anchorage#USA Alaska
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of airport in Anchorage
| pushpin_label       = '''MRI'''
| r1-number           = 7/25
| r1-length-f         = 4,000
| r1-length-m         = 1,219
| r1-surface          = Asphalt
| r2-number           = 16/34
| r2-length-f         = 2,640
| r2-length-m         = 805
| r2-surface          = Asphalt
| r3-number           = 5/23
| r3-length-f         = 2,000
| r3-length-m         = 610
| r3-surface          = Asphalt/gravel
| stat-year           = 2015
| stat1-header        = Aircraft operations
| stat1-data          = 126,234
| stat2-header        = Based aircraft
| stat2-data          = 844
| stat3-header        = Passengers
| stat3-data          = 50
| stat4-header        = Freight
| stat4-data          = 652,000 lbs
| footnotes           = Source: [[Federal Aviation Administration]]<ref name=FAA>{{FAA-airport|ID=MRI|use=PU|own=PU|site=50035.*A}}, effective January 5, 2017</ref>
}}

'''Merrill Field''' {{Airport codes|MRI|PAMR|MRI}}<ref>[http://gc.kls2.com/airport/MRI Great Circle Mapper: MRI / PAMR - Anchorage, Alaska (Merrill Field)]</ref> is a public-use [[general aviation]] [[airport]] located one mile (1.6&nbsp;km) east of downtown [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Alaska]]. The airport is owned by Municipality of Anchorage.<ref name=FAA /> It opened in 1930 as Anchorage Aviation Field and was renamed in honor of Alaska aviation pioneer [[Russel Merrill]].

==History==
[[File:Merrill Field tower nearing completion.jpg|thumb|left|160px|The old control tower in the fall of 1961, prior to its completion. This tower saw service for approximately four decades before a new, much taller tower was built on the opposite side of the east–west runway adjacent to Fifth Avenue.]]

Merrill Field, located on the east end of 5th Avenue in Anchorage, was the first official airport in the city when it opened in 1930. It was Anchorage's only airport until 1951, when [[Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport]] opened, along with the introduction of ever larger and faster commercial aircraft required that an airfield with longer and heavier runways be built.

Construction of the original {{Convert|35|acre|adj=on}} site one mile east of the city was completed on 22 Aug. 1929. Originally named '''Anchorage Aviation Field''', it was later renamed '''Anchorage Municipal Airport'''. The airport is now named for [[Russel Merrill]], an Alaskan aviation pioneer. An [[aerodrome beacon]] was located at Merrill Field and dedicated on 25 September 1932 in Merrill's honor.<ref name="Russel">{{cite book |last1=Maclean |first1=Robert Merrill |last2=Rossiter |first2=Sean |title=Flying Cold |date=1994 |publisher=Epicenter Press |location=Fairbanks |isbn=9780945397335 |pages=155, 170–172}}</ref>

The airfield remains in use today as the primary field for private wheel-equipped aircraft in the warmer months, and for ski-equipped aircraft in the winter. A section of the property used to be a municipal landfill.

==Facilities and aircraft==
Merrill Field covers 436 [[acre]]s (176 [[hectare|ha]], 1.76&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) and has three [[runway]]s:<ref name=FAA />
* Runway 5/23: 2,000 x 60&nbsp;ft (610 x 18 m), surface: [[gravel]]/dirt
* Runway 7/25: 4,000 x 100&nbsp;ft (1,219 x 30 m), surface: [[Asphalt concrete|asphalt]]
* Runway 16/34: 2,640 x 75&nbsp;ft (805 x 23 m), surface: asphalt

For the 12-month period ending September 30, 2013, the airport had 126,234 aircraft operations, all of which were [[general aviation]]. There are 844 aircraft based at this airport: 786 single engine, 41 multi-engine, 16 [[helicopter]]s and one [[Glider aircraft|glider]].<ref name=FAA />

There are no based jets,<ref name="FAA" /> although one retired [[Boeing 727]] donated by [[FedEx Express|FedEx]] is used as a training aid by the [[University of Alaska Anchorage|University of Alaska Anchorage's]] Aviation Technology Division,<ref name="adn1">{{Cite web|title = Unusual 727 landing at Anchorage's Merrill Field draws a crowd|url = http://www.adn.com/article/unusual-727-landing-anchorages-merrill-field-draws-crowd|website = Alaska Dispatch News|access-date = 2015-06-18|last = Anderson|first = Ben|date = 26 February 2013}}</ref><ref name="greenandgold">{{Cite web|title = 727 landing puts spotlight on UAA's aviation technology programs|url = http://greenandgold.uaa.alaska.edu/blog/10954/727_landing_puts_spotlight_on_uaas_aviation_technology_programs/|access-date = 2015-06-18|date = 4 March 2013|website = Green & Gold News|publisher = University of Alaska Anchorage}}</ref> which is based at the airfield. It is not [[Airworthiness|airworthy]].

When it landed in February 2013, the Boeing 727 was the largest aircraft ever to have landed at Merrill Field.<ref name="adn2">{{Cite web|title = University wants Boeing 727 to land at Merrill Field|url = http://www.adn.com/article/20130207/university-wants-boeing-727-land-merrill-field|website = Alaska Dispatch News|access-date = 2015-06-18|date = 7 February 2013|last = Hopkins|first = Kyle}}</ref> The landing required special permission from the city,<ref name="adn1" /><ref name="adn2" /> and preparatory surveys of the runway and airfield infrastructure to ensure the aircraft could be landed safely;<ref name="greenandgold" /> the captain practiced the landing in a [[flight simulator]] beforehand.<ref>{{Cite web|title = The eagle has landed at Merrill Field: FedEx donates Boeing 727 to Aviation program|url = http://www.thenorthernlight.org/2013/03/12/the-eagle-has-landed-at-merrill-field-fedex-donates-boeing-727-to-uaa-aviation-program/|access-date = 2015-06-18|last = Erickson|first = Evan|date = 12 March 2013|website = The Northern Light|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150618083857/http://www.thenorthernlight.org/2013/03/12/the-eagle-has-landed-at-merrill-field-fedex-donates-boeing-727-to-uaa-aviation-program/|archive-date = 18 June 2015}}</ref>

The airfield hosts two locally owned flight schools, [[Air Taxi|air taxi]] services, and [[fixed-base operators]]. An extension of the Q [[Taxiway]] connects the airport to Alaska Regional Hospital for [[MEDEVAC]] operations.

A section of the airport is built over the closed Merrill Field Land Fill. This section requires slightly more maintenance due to settling and emissions.

==Airline and destinations==
===Passenger===
{{Airport-dest-list
|Alaska Air Transit | [[Chenega Bay Airport|Chenega]], [[McGrath Airport|McGrath]],<ref>https://www.regulations.gov/document/DOT-OST-2017-0108-0163</ref> [[Nikolai Airport|Nikolai]], [[Takotna Airport|Takotna]], [[Tatitlek Airport|Tatitlek]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flyaat.com/sheduled-flights|title=Alaska Air Transit schedule|access-date=Sep 12, 2022}}</ref>
}}

===Statistics===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Top airlines at MRI (September 2021 - August 2022)<ref name="transtats.bts.gov">
  {{cite web
  | url = https://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?20=E&Nv42146=ZeV&Nv42146_anzr=N0pu14ntr,%20NX:%20Zr44vyy%20Svryq&pn44vr4=SNPgf
  | title = Merrill Field (MRI) Stats
  | publisher = [[Bureau of Transportation Statistics]] (BTS), [[Research and Innovative Technology Administration]] (RITA), [[U.S. Department of Transportation]]
  | date = August 2022 | access-date = December 2, 2022
  }}
</ref>

! Rank
! Airline
! Passengers
! Percent of market share
|-
| 1
| Alaska Air Transit <!-- DOT lists Alaska Air Transit as J&M Alaska -->
| align = right | 2,090
| align = right | 90.68%
|-
| 2
| [[Spernak Airways]]
| align = right | 220
| align = right | 9.32%
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Top domestic destinations (Sep. 2021 - Aug. 2022)<ref name="transtats.bts.gov" />

! Rank
! City
! Airport
! Passengers
! Carriers
|-
| 1
| [[Nikolai, AK]]
| [[Nikolai Airport]]
| align = right | 550
| Alaska Air Transit
|-
| 2
| [[Tatitlek, AK]]
| [[Tatitlek Airport]]
| align = right | 300
| Alaska Air Transit
|-
| 3
| [[Chenega, AK]]
| [[Chenega Bay Airport]]
| align = right | 110
| Alaska Air Transit
|-
| 4
| [[Skwentna, AK]]
| [[Skwentna Airport]]
| align = right | 90
|
|-
| 5
| [[McGrath, AK]]
| [[McGrath Airport]]
| align = right | 40
|
|-
| 6
| [[Takotna, AK]]
| [[Takotna Airport]]
| align = right | 20
| Alaska Air Transit
|}

==See also==
* [[List of airports in Alaska]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.muni.org/departments/merrill_field/pages/default.aspx Municipality of Anchorage: Merrill Field] (official website)
* {{FAA-diagram|01522|Merrill Field (MRI)}}
* {{FAA-procedures|MRI|Merrill Field (MRI)}}
{{US-airport2|MRI|PAMR}}

{{Portal bar|Alaska|Aviation}}
{{Airports in Alaska}}

[[Category:1930 establishments in Alaska]]
[[Category:Airports established in 1930]]
[[Category:Airports in Anchorage, Alaska]]
[[Category:Alaska Dispatch]]
[[Category:History of Anchorage, Alaska]]
[[Category:University of Alaska Anchorage]]