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Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile (1.6 km) east of downtown Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport is owned by Municipality of Anchorage. It opened in 1930 as Anchorage Aviation Field and was renamed in honor of Alaska aviation pioneer Russel Merrill.
Construction of the original 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. (1994). 9780945397335, Epicenter Press. ISBN 9780945397335
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.
Merrill Field covers 436 (176 hectare, 1.76 km2) and has three :
There are no based jets, although one retired Boeing 727 donated by FedEx Express is used as a training aid by the University of Alaska Anchorage's Aviation Technology Division, which is based at the airfield. It is not Airworthiness.
When it landed in February 2013, the Boeing 727 was the largest aircraft ever to have landed at Merrill Field. The landing required special permission from the city, and preparatory surveys of the runway and airfield infrastructure to ensure the aircraft could be landed safely; the captain practiced the landing in a flight simulator beforehand.
The airfield hosts five flight schools, Air Taxi services, and fixed-base operators. Both 100LL and Jet A fuel is available 24/7. An extension of the Q Taxiway connects the airport to Alaska Regional Hospital for MEDEVAC operations. These airfield facilities include, but are not limited to:
Merrill field also has a VOR test facility (VOT), accessible on the VHF frequency 111.0 MHz. The VOT is operational 24 hours a day. 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.
From June 1 - August 31, 2025, Merrill field underwent airfield construction for the first time in 20 years. This project included replacing the airport beacon, installing new airfield lighting, and replacing runway 7/25 with runway 8/26. As of November 2025, the construction is complete, however the runway 8/26 REIL and PAPIs are not yet operational.
Merrill field has several departure and arrival procedures, along with common traffic pattern entries, listed in the notices section of the Alaska chart supplement. This section of the chart supplement also contains information regarding Merrill Field's part 93 special airspace. This special airspace is designed to help facilitate safe flow of air traffic in the heavily congested Anchorage Bowl. There are special airspace segments outlined for Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Lake Hood Seaplane Base, Bryant Army Airfield, and Merrill Field, governing speed and altitude restrictions of aircraft in these segments in order to ensure sufficient separation of aircraft arriving and departing from these airports. Deviations from these restrictions are available upon request via Anchorage TRACON, however they may not always be granted.
Merrill Field has 4 GPS instrument approach procedures, as well as 1 standard instrument departure and an obstacle departure procedure. These can be found in the Alaska Terminal Procedures Publication.
| + Top airlines at MRI (September 2021 - August 2022)
! Rank ! Airline ! Passengers ! Percent of market share | |||
| 1 | Alaska Air Transit | 2,090 | 90.68% |
| 2 | Spernak Airways | 220 | 9.32% |
| + Top domestic destinations (Sep. 2021 - Aug. 2022)
! Rank ! City ! Airport ! Passengers ! Carriers | ||||
| 1 | Nikolai, AK | Nikolai Airport | 550 | Alaska Air Transit |
| 2 | Tatitlek, AK | Tatitlek Airport | 300 | Alaska Air Transit |
| 3 | Chenega, AK | Chenega Bay Airport | 110 | Alaska Air Transit |
| 4 | Skwentna, AK | Skwentna Airport | 90 | |
| 5 | McGrath, AK | McGrath Airport | 40 | |
| 6 | Takotna, AK | Takotna Airport | 20 | Alaska Air Transit |
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