Scheduled commercial airline passenger service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. Current service to Nikolski is provided by Grant Aviation from Unalaska.
Nikolski Air Station resides at elevation of 77 feet (23 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 8/26 with a gravel surface measuring 3,512 by 135 feet (1,070 x 41 m).[1]
The Reeve Aleutian Airways Douglas C-47A involved in the crash
On 29 May 1965, a Reeve Aleutian AirwaysDouglas C-47A (N91016),[5] during the take-off phase, stalled and crashed because a sudden wind gust caused a premature lift-off. The three crew members and the two passengers on board were not injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and left by the side at the end of the airstrip ever since.[6]
Order 2004-6-20: re-selecting Peninsula Airways to provide essential air service at Atka and Nikolski, Alaska, at annual subsidy rates of $336,303 and $173,603 per year, respectively, for the period ending June 30, 2006.
Order 2006-5-21: re-selecting Alaska Airlines to provide essential air service at Adak, Alaska, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,393,384, and Peninsula Airways for $449,605 at Atka and $314,694 at Nikolski. The three rates extend through June 30, 2008.
Order 2008-3-36: re-selecting Alaska Airlines to provide essential air service at Adak, Alaska, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,483,122, and Peninsula Airways for $513,803 at Atka and $469,786 at Nikolski. The three rates extend through June 30, 2010.
Order 2010-7-9: re-selecting Alaska Airlines to provide essential air service (EAS) at Adak, Alaska, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,675,703, and Peninsula Airways, Inc., for $290,780 at Atka and $639,008 at Nikolski. The three rates extend through June 30, 2012.
Order 2012-5-20 (May 23, 2012): selecting Grant Aviation, Inc., to provide essential air service (EAS) at Atka, Alaska, for $842,574 the first year and $822,445 the second year, and at Nikolski, Alaska, for $331,431 the first year and $324,998 the second year.
