‘Part of the DNA of Alaska’: FAA deputy administrator speaks to local aviation leaders during Alaska visit

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - In a recent visit to Alaska, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) deputy administrator Katie Thomson met with local stakeholders in the aviation industry earlier this month to help gain a deeper understanding of its critical role across the state.

During her visit, Thomson referred to the state’s general aviation flights as “part of the DNA of Alaska” while touring nearly a dozen facilities across the state.

The mid-August visit had Thomson touring the Anchorage Airport Control Tower, the Aviation Technology Division of the University of Alaska Anchorage, Palmer’s FAA Flight Service Station, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and multiple facilities in Fairbanks, including the Alaska Center for UAS Integration (ACUASI), which is home to one of the top drone research programs in America.

ACUASI’s director Cathy Cahill, PhD, called the administrator’s visit a productive one.

“It’s so nice to deal with smart people who really get it,” Cahill said. “We have a bunch of challenges you don’t see in the Lower 48, so being able to talk through those with her was really, really important.”

Thomson spoke at the Global Autonomous Systems Conference in Anchorage before Cahill was given the opportunity to have a sitdown lunch with the deputy administrator, where they discussed general aviation, rural cargo delivery, and infrastructure limitations across the state.

Cahill said it was an honest conservation.

“You can hear about it, but until you’re up here and you’re flying around — and she was going to go to one of the remote communities the following day — you don’t really grasp how big it is, and how little infrastructure we have,” Cahill said. “I think that was eye-opening for her, but she’s a fast learner and so she was getting it.”

Thomson was not directly available for an interview, but in a prerecorded statement released by the FAA’s public affairs team, Thomson acknowledged Alaska’s dependency on aviation, with 86% of communities not accessible by road.

“Alaskans rely on aviation not just to travel, but to get everyday necessities like food and diapers, construction materials, heating fuel, and even medical attention — things those of us in the Lower 48 get at the grocery store to use in our day-to-day life,” Thomson said. “It is important that [the FAA] continue to stay connected to make sure Alaska’s skies stay safe and that communities get the aviation resources they need.”

Thomson went on to say that critical components, such as FAA weather cameras and visual weather observation systems, play a vital role in aviation safety, and that the FAA is looking at ways to ensure aviators have access to timely and accurate weather information.

“Weather was the one issue raised by everyone we met,” Thomson said. “Being there helped me better understand the region’s unique challenges and opportunities.”