Southwest Is Adding Anchorage, Alaska, To Its Network In 2026

Southwest Airlines is keeping the sun up all night on its network expansion party with the intention to begin service at Anchorage, Alaska’s Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in the first half of 2026. Southwest Airlines® is scheduled to make flights available for purchase as part of its next schedule extension coming this month.

“We’re adding destinations that once seemed inconceivable for Southwest in order to build a route network that creates new experiences and more possibilities than ever before,” said Andrew Watterson, Chief Operating Officer at Southwest Airlines. “We look forward to connecting our Customers to the rich history and culture of Anchorage and connecting the 49th state to our vast domestic network.”

Anchorage marks the fifth new destination Southwest® has announced thus far in 2025 and will expand its network to 122 airports1 when service launches next year. Already the airline flying more Customers nonstop within the United States2, Alaska will become the 43rd state in Southwest’s domestic network.

“Air travel is a lifeline in Alaska, and Southwest’s arrival in Anchorage is a major win for our communities,” said Ryan Anderson, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. “This service will provide more affordable, reliable connections for Alaskans and help share our great state with more visitors than ever before.”

“This will be a big economic boost for Anchorage and all of southcentral Alaska," said Suzanne LaFrance, Mayor of Anchorage. "We are excited to share our rich cultural heritage, magnificent landscapes, and diverse community with a larger group of travelers.”Accompanying its recent new destination announcements, Southwest is redesigning its cabin experience to meet the needs of the modern traveler. Enhancements include selling assigned and premium seating for flights, launching free Wi-Fi for all Rapid Rewards® Members, thanks to T-Mobile®, and adding in-seat power to all of its Boeing 737-8 aircraft as the airline works toward in-seat power across its full fleet.

Rapid Rewards Members earn points by flying or spending with partners. Members can purchase points to earn a reward to book their favorite destination or a new Southwest route. Plus, Members are eligible for free Wi-Fi, thanks to T-Mobile, and tier benefits make every journey more enjoyable.

Crammed With tourists, Alaska’s Capital Wonders What Will Happen As Its Magnificent Glacier Recedes

Thousands of tourists spill onto a boardwalk in Alaska’s capital city every day from cruise ships towering over downtown. Vendors hawk shoreside trips and rows of buses stand ready to whisk visitors away, with many headed for the area’s crown jewel: the Mendenhall Glacier.

A craggy expanse of gray, white and blue, the glacier gets swarmed by sightseeing helicopters and attracts visitors by kayak, canoe and foot. So many come to see the glacier and Juneau’s other wonders that the city’s immediate concern is how to manage them all as a record number are expected this year. Some residents flee to quieter places during the summer, and a deal between the city and cruise industry will limit how many ships arrive next year.

But climate change is melting the Mendenhall Glacier. It is receding so quickly that by 2050, it might no longer be visible from the visitor center it once loomed outside.

That’s prompted another question Juneau is only now starting to contemplate: What happens then?

“We need to be thinking about our glaciers and the ability to view glaciers as they recede,” said Alexandra Pierce, the city’s tourism manager. There also needs to be a focus on reducing environmental impacts, she said. “People come to Alaska to see what they consider to be a pristine environment and it’s our responsibility to preserve that for residents and visitors.”

The glacier pours from rocky terrain between mountains into a lake dotted by stray icebergs. Its face retreated eight football fields between 2007 and 2021, according to estimates from University of Alaska Southeast researchers. Trail markers memorialize the glacier’s backward march, showing where the ice once stood. Thickets of vegetation have grown in its wake.

While massive chunks have broken off, most ice loss has come from the thinning due to warming temperatures, said Eran Hood, a University of Alaska Southeast professor of environmental science. The Mendenhall has now largely receded from the lake that bears its name.

Scientists are trying to understand what the changes might mean for the ecosystem, including salmon habitat.

There are uncertainties for tourism, too.

Most people enjoy the glacier from trails across Mendenhall Lake near the visitor center. Caves of dizzying blues that drew crowds several years ago have collapsed and pools of water now stand where one could once step from the rocks onto the ice.
Manoj Pillai, a cruise ship worker from India, took pictures from a popular overlook on a recent day off.

“If the glacier is so beautiful now, how would it be, like, 10 or 20 years before? I just imagine that,” he said.

Officials with the Tongass National Forest, under which the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area falls, are bracing for more visitors over the next 30 years even as they contemplate a future when the glacier slips from casual view.

The agency is proposing new trails and parking areas, an additional visitor center and public use cabins at a lakeside campground. Researchers do not expect the glacier to disappear completely for at least a century.

“We did talk about, ‘Is it worth the investment in the facilities if the glacier does go out of sight?’” said Tristan Fluharty, the forest’s Juneau district ranger. “Would we still get the same amount of visitation?”

A thundering waterfall that is a popular place for selfies, salmon runs, black bears and trails could continue attracting tourists when the glacier is not visible from the visitor center, but “the glacier is the big draw,” he said.

Around 700,000 people are expected to visit this year, with about 1 million projected by 2050.

Other sites offer a cautionary tale. Annual visitation peaked in the 1990s at around 400,000 to the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center, southeast of Anchorage, with the Portage Glacier serving as a draw. But now, on clear days, a sliver of the glacier remains visible from the center, which was visited by about 30,000 people last year, said Brandon Raile, a spokesperson with the Chugach National Forest, which manages the site. Officials are discussing the center’s future, he said.

At the Mendenhall, rangers talk to visitors about climate change. They aim to “inspire wonder and awe but also to inspire hope and action,” said Laura Buchheit, the forest’s Juneau deputy district ranger.

After pandemic-stunted seasons, about 1.6 million cruise passengers are expected in Juneau this year, during a season stretching from April through October. The city, nestled in a rainforest, is one stop on what are generally week-long cruises to Alaska beginning in Seattle or Vancouver, British Columbia. Tourists can leave the docks and move up the side of a mountain in minutes via a popular tram, see bald eagles perch on light posts and enjoy a vibrant Alaska Native arts community.

On the busiest days, about 20,000 people, equal to two-thirds of the city’s population, pour from the boats.

City leaders and major cruise lines agreed to a daily five-ship limit for next year. But critics worry that won’t ease congestion if the vessels keep getting bigger. Some residents would like one day a week without ships. As many as seven ships a day have arrived this year.

Juneau Tours and Whale Watch is one of about two dozen companies with permits for services like transportation or guiding at the glacier. Serene Hutchinson, the company’s general manager, said demand has been so high that she neared her allotment halfway through the season. Shuttle service to the glacier had to be suspended, but her business still offers limited tours that include the glacier, she said.

Other bus operators are reaching their limits, and tourism officials are encouraging visitors to see other sites or get to the glacier by different means.

Limits on visitation can benefit tour companies by improving the experience rather than having tourists “shoehorned” at the glacier, said Hutchinson, who doesn’t worry about Juneau losing its luster as the glacier recedes.

“Alaska does the work for us, right?” she said. “All we have to do is just kind of get out of the way and let people look around and smell and breathe.”

Pierce, Juneau’s tourism manager, said discussions are just beginning around what a sustainable southeast Alaska tourism industry should look like.

In Sitka, home to a slumbering volcano, the number of cruise passengers on a day earlier this summer exceeded the town’s population of 8,400, overwhelming businesses, dragging down internet speeds and prompting officials to question how much tourism is too much.

Juneau plans to conduct a survey that could guide future growth, such as building trails for tourism companies.

Kerry Kirkpatrick, a Juneau resident of nearly 30 years, recalls when the Mendenhall’s face was “long across the water and high above our heads.” She called the glacier a national treasure for its accessibility and noted an irony in carbon-emitting helicopters and cruise ships chasing a melting glacier. She worries the current level of tourism isn’t sustainable.

As the Mendenhall recedes, plants and animals will need time to adjust, she said.

So will humans.

“There’s too many people on the planet wanting to do the same things,” Kirkpatrick said. “You don’t want to be the person who closes the door and says, you know, ‘I’m the last one in and you can’t come in.’ But we do have to have the ability to say, ‘No, no more.’”

BY BECKY BOHRER, AP “Where do we go with the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center?” Raile said. “How do we keep it relevant as we go forward when the original reason for it being put there is not really relevant anymore?”

Alaska Experiencing Wildfires It’s Never Seen Before

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska is burning this year in ways rarely or ever seen, from the largest wildfire in a typically mainly fireproof southwest region to a pair of blazes that ripped through forests and produced smoke that blew hundreds of miles to the the Bering Sea community of Nome, where the normally crystal clear air was pushed into the extremely unhealthy category.

Already more than 530 wildfires have burned an area the size of Connecticut and the usual worst of the fire season lays ahead. While little property has burned, some residents have been forced to evacuate and one person was killed — a helicopter pilot died last month when he crashed while attempting to carry a load of equipment for firefighters.

Recent rains have helped but longer-term forecasts are showing a pattern similar to 2004, when July rains gave way to high-pressure systems, hot days, low humidity and lightning strikes that fueled Alaska’s worst fire year.

In 2004, the acreage burned by mid-July was about the same as now, But by the time that fire season ended, 10,156 square miles (26,304 square kilometers) were charred.

“The frequency of these big seasons has doubled from what it was in the second half of the 20th century,” said Rick Thoman, a climate specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska’s International Arctic Research Center. “And there’s no reason to think that’s not going to continue.” .

Heat waves and droughts, which are exacerbated by a warming climate, are making wildfires more frequent, destructive, and harder to fight in many places. This month, wildfires have torn through Portugal, Spain, France, England and Germany, which have seen record-high temperatures.

California has recorded its largest, most destructive and deadliest wildfires in the last five years and with the state deep in drought authorities are girding for what may be a late summer and fall filled with smoke and flames.

Alaska, the nation’s largest state, also has been dry. Parts saw an early snow melt and then a largely rain-free June that dried out the duff layer — the band of decaying moss and grasses that blankets the floors of boreal forests and the tundra. This organic matter can be up to 2 feet (0.61 meters) thick but in various stages of decay.

On May 31, a lightning strike on the duff layer in the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta started the East Fork fire, an area in southwest Alaska that rarely burns. Two communities with a combined population of about 700 were threatened but no mandatory evacuations were ordered in what became the largest wildfire ever in the delta at 259 square miles (671 square kilometers). Firefighters were able to protect the communities.

A fire like that one was directly attributable to climate change, Thoman said. There’s more vegetation growing on the tundra, willow and alder trees are thicker in the transition area between the tundra and forests, and spruce along river valleys are growing thicker and moving farther uphill from those valleys.

“There’s been a significant increase in the amount of fuel available, and that’s from decades of warmer springs and summers in the region, direct result of a warming climate,” he said. “And, of course, fires with more fuels available burn hotter. They burn longer. They’re more resistant to changes in weather.”

In Alaska, a little more than half of all wildfires are started by lightning and the rest are caused by humans accidentally, intentionally or through negligence. Of the 4,687 square miles (12,140 square kilometers) burned so far this year, only 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) have been from human-caused fires.

It isn’t feasible or necessary to try to fight all Alaskan wildfires. Fire play a key role in the state’s ecology by cleaning out low-lying debris, thinning trees and renewing habitats for plants and animals, so Alaska typically lets most burn themselves out or wait until rain and snow does the job. Firefighting resources are used to battle fires in populated areas.

So far this year, there’s been about 145,000 lightning strikes in Alaska and adjacent areas of Canada, as counted by the Bureau of Land Management’s lightning detection network. A staggering 42% occurred between July 5-11 when weather systems produced rain but about 50 fires also were started.

“Having concentrated lightning, where we get a significant fraction of the entire season’s lightning in a row in a few days, that’s actually fairly typical for Alaska lightning,” Thoman said. “Lots of lightning in that concentrated area that did spark quite a few fires in areas that had not had fires up to that point.”

While there’s been little loss of property, smoke from the fires has caused dangerous breathing conditions. In one case, two fires burning near Lake Iliamna joined and in one day burned about 75 square miles (194 square kilometers) of boreal forest, creating smoke and ash that strong winds transported hundreds of miles northwest to Nome, pushing the air quality index into the extremely unhealthy category.

“I would never have thought that you could get that poor of air quality back 400 miles from the active fires, and that is a testament to how hot those fires were,” Thoman said.

US Will Revisit Trump-Era Decision For Alaska Rainforest

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The federal government announced plans Friday to “repeal or replace” a decision by the Trump administration last fall to lift restrictions on logging and road building in a southeast Alaska rainforest that provides habitat for wolves, bears and salmon.

Conservationists cheered the announcement as a positive step. Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy criticized it and vowed to use “every tool available to push back.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plans were announced on a federal regulatory site with little detail. They were described as consistent with a January executive order from President Joe Biden that called for reviewing agency actions during the Trump administration that could be at odds with Biden’s environmental priorities. The U.S. Forest Service falls under the Agriculture Department.

The Tongass National Forest is the country’s largest national forest. In a statement, Matt Herrick, an Agriculture Department spokesperson, said the Trump administration decision “did not align with the overwhelming majority of public opinion across the country and among Alaskans.”

“Future decisions about the role of the Tongass National Forest should continue to reflect the best interests of Alaskans and the country as a whole,” Herrick said.

The statement did not outline the next steps the Agriculture Department would take to repeal or replace the Trump administration decision.

The Agriculture Department last October decided to exempt the Tongass from the so-called roadless rule, which prohibited road construction and timber harvests with limited exceptions. The roadless rule, dating to 2001, has long been the subject of litigation.

In 2018, Alaska under then-Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, asked the federal government to consider an exemption. Dunleavy supported the request, as have members of Alaska’s Republican congressional delegation.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska’s senior senator, said the Trump administration, through the Forest Service and Agriculture Department, “put considerable work and effort into the final rule and now the Biden administration is literally throwing it all away.”

“We need to end this ‘yo-yo effect’ as the lives of Alaskans who live and work in the Tongass are upended every time we have a new President. This has to end,” she said in a statement.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan called the decision “misguided,” and U.S. Rep Don Young said it was “yet another nail in the coffin for economic opportunity” in southeast Alaska. The region, heavily reliant on tourism, was hard-hit by the pandemic last year.

The congressional delegation, in a statement, said the exemption is needed “to restore balance in federal management on the Tongass.” Sullivan has said the roadless rule is a hindrance to activities such as mineral development, building energy projects and connecting communities.

The Biden administration earlier this month suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, following a January lease sale that drew a tepid response. A law passed by Congress in 2017 called for two lease sales to be held.

But U.S. government attorneys also have defended a decision made during the Trump administration to approve a major oil project on Alaska’s North Slope that Alaska political leaders have supported.

The Agriculture Department in its decision about the Tongass National Forest last fall concluded that a policy change for the forest could be made “without major adverse impacts to the recreation, tourism and fishing industries, while providing benefits to the timber and mining industries, increasing opportunities for community infrastructure, and eliminating unnecessary regulations.”

More than 9 million of the Tongass’ roughly 16.7 million acres are considered roadless areas, according to a federal environmental review last year. The majority of the Tongass is in a natural condition, and the forest is one of the largest relatively intact temperate rainforests in the world, the review said.

Meredith Trainor, executive director of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, said those who supported keeping the roadless rule provisions in place for the Tongass “heartily encourage the administration to put this thing to bed by repealing the Trump rule once and for all.”

Josh Hicks, senior campaign manager with The Wilderness Society, in a statement said forests are “highly effective at sequestering carbon and, if left standing, are one of the strongest natural solutions to combating the climate crisis.”

Alert Level Raised For Aleutian Islands Volcano Emitting Ash

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands chain has continued to emit ash, the Alaska Volcano Observatory reported Thursday, prompting officials to raise the alert level.

Satellite views suggested ash emissions from the Semisopochnoi volcano that started in the morning are continuing with no decrease in intensity. The observatory listed the volcano being under a watch.

The ash cloud extends more than 217 miles (350 kilometers) southeast of the volcano and has reached heights of up to 20,000 feet (6 kilometers) above sea level, the observatory said.

Adak is about 160 miles (257 kilometers) east of the volcano.

Travelore Cruise News: Canada Blocks Cruise Ships For A Year, Ending Alaska Trips

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Canadian government has extended a ban on cruise ships through February 2022, which is expected to block trips from visiting Alaska this year.

Transport Canada on Thursday announced the extension of the ban enacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada blocked cruise ships of more than 100 passengers starting in spring 2020.

The ban was set to expire at the end of February, but Transport Canada said “cruise vessels in Canadian waters pose a risk to our health care systems.”

Most large cruise ships visiting Alaska are registered in foreign countries.

U.S. federal law prohibits foreign-registered ships from sailing between two American ports without stopping at a foreign port between. Large cruise ships bound for Alaska either begin voyages in Canada or stop there on the way.

Most of Alaska’s 1.3 million visitors two years ago were cruise ship passengers visiting southeast Alaska. Many disembarked for excursions in Anchorage, Denali National Park and Fairbanks.

Last year, the pandemic and Canadian restrictions resulted in only 48 cruise ship passengers visiting Southeast Alaska, Juneau-based Rain Coast Data reported.

Juneau City Manager Rorie Watt said he was not surprised by the extended ban, although he thought it might last a few months instead of the entire year.

“Three months ago, we thought we’d see ships in May,” Watt said. “A month ago maybe we’d see them in June, two weeks ago maybe we’d see them in July and last week, we thought maybe we’d see them in August.”

The order could be rescinded if pandemic conditions improve. But Skagway Mayor Andrew Cremata did not see a possibility for relief for now.

“Any idea that there could be some kind of workaround is off the table now, because the Canadian government has stated very clearly that cruise ships will not even be allowed in Canadian waters,” Cremata said.

Watt said Southeast Alaska port communities weathering another year without revenue from cruise ship passengers and related businesses will need help.

“We are going to be hoping and praying for a large federal stimulus package,” Watt said.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

Firm To Offer Balloon Rides From Alaska To The Edge Of Space

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A company wants to use an advanced balloon to fly customers from Earth’s surface in Alaska to the highest reaches of the planet’s atmosphere.

Florida-based startup firm Space Perspective plans to use the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak to serve as one of the launch sites for the vehicle, called the Spaceship Neptune, The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday.

The balloon rides will be manned by a flight crew taking eight passengers in a pressurized capsule suspended beneath a hydrogen balloon the size of a football stadium.

Each passenger could pay an estimated $125,000 for a six-hour journey.

Mark Lester, CEO of Alaska Aerospace Corp., said the high-altitude rides will be available from Kodiak in a few years and will support Alaska tourism.

“You will have people from around the world who want to come to Alaska and see the northern lights from the edge of space,” Lester said.

Alaska Aerospace and Space Perspective will test and refine spaceport operations and secure spaceflight licenses from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Space Perspective plans to complete an unmanned test flight from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida next year.

Passengers will begin with a two-hour ascent to about 19 miles (31 kilometers) above Earth. They will then be able to post on social media about the experience or send data.

“Neptune then makes a two-hour descent under the balloon and splashes down, where a ship retrieves the passengers,” along with the capsule and balloon, Alaska Aerospace said.

Capsule recovery would occur in the waters around Kodiak Island and the Aleutian Island chain, depending upon the seasonal wind patterns.

The balloon design is derived from technology NASA has used for decades to fly large research telescopes, Space Perspective said.

Testing Option Now Provided As An Alternative To Alaska's 14-Day Quarantine For Visitors Or Alaskans Returning Home From Out-Of-State Travel

ANCHORAGE, Alaska-- Effective last Saturday, June 6, at 12:01 a.m., the State of Alaska began requiring travelers entering the state to adhere to new requirements under State of Alaska Health Mandate 10 (as revised on June 3, 2020). According to the revised mandate, travelers entering the state may enter Alaska without undergoing a 14-day quarantine if they:

• Provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours of departure; tests taken up to five days from departure will be accepted but travelers need to take another test upon arrival; or
• Test upon arrival in Alaska, maintaining quarantine at their own expense until test results are known; or,
• Belong to the critical infrastructure workforce and follow their company's protective plan on file with the state; or
• Previously had COVID-19, are recovered and can provide evidence of both.

The mandate revisions are aimed at protecting the health of Alaskans and visitors while allowing travelers the option to travel into Alaska without having to quarantine.

The State of Alaska is currently providing COVID-19 testing for travelers into Alaska at seven hub airports but is strongly encouraging testing prior to departure. Travelers who test within 72 hours of departure do not have to quarantine in Alaska if they can show a negative result upon landing. If results are pending, travelers must quarantine until a negative test result can be shared with the state. Travelers who test within five days prior to departure also do not have to quarantine if they take another test at the airport when they land in Alaska.

"Testing before you travel – within five days prior of departure – is your best bet for a safe and enjoyable visit to Alaska. You will be able to enjoy your time in Alaska without quarantine," said Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum. "We realize it's not easy in many places to get tested without having any symptoms, but we're asking travelers to try. This is the best option for travelers and will also help conserve our state's resources."

Beginning on Saturday, travelers arriving by air into Alaska were greeted at eight airports by screeners and asked to complete and sign the Alaska Travel Declaration Form and then follow protocols based on their COVID-19 test status. (See the attached chart for details). Travelers are also given a testing voucher for a follow-up test to be taken 7-14 days after arrival in Alaska, if the traveler is staying that long in the state. The voucher offsets the costs of testing in Alaska after insurance is billed. The state is first rolling out these mandate revisions with air travelers but will soon be increasing engagement with travelers arriving into Alaska by land and sea.

The following Alaska airports currently have testing on site: Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Wrangell and Gustavus. The Petersburg airport is receiving travel declaration forms but is not yet providing testing at the airport. A testing site there will be opening soon. 

Travelers need to "watch the window"  In addition to testing, all travelers into Alaska are being asked to minimize interactions with others until the 14-day window of possible infection is over. Just like Alaska residents, travelers will need to keep at least 6 feet from others, wear a cloth face covering in public and wash hands often. They should also keep track of interactions with other people and the places they visit. Also, instead of dining inside a restaurant or going into a store, visitors are asked to use restaurant delivery and takeout options, visit outdoor venues and minimize time indoors around others. Local jurisdictions may have individual requirements and restrictions. It is the responsibility of every traveler to educate themselves ahead of time to understand local conditions.

"Traveling during a pandemic comes with risks and challenges," said Alaska's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink. "We want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable trip, so please take precautions and prepare ahead. We recommend travelers purchase evacuation, medical and travel insurance and use online options to obtain fishing licenses or other needed items. Travelers should know that Alaska's medical infrastructure is limited, so please come prepared."

Cases are already being identifiedAs of Wednesday, two travelers tested so far at Alaska airports have turned up positive – one at the  Ketchikan airport and a second in Juneau. Both travelers are isolating themselves from others and are being monitored by public health officials. They must remain in isolation until cleared by public health officials.

"Increased testing of travelers is going to help us detect some cases sooner," Zink added. "We need to continue to find ways to live with this virus and the faster we can detect cases, the better we can box in the virus by isolating sick individuals and tracing close contacts. As we work to provide more options that reopen Alaska, we'll be following the data and if the numbers tell us we need to step back, we will."

"While we are still working out details and improving systems, overall this is going well," said Tessa Walker Linderman, DHSS Port of Entry Coordinator. "Travelers have been understanding of the need for these rules to protect the health of Alaskans while reopening our economy and have been compliant and understanding. Wait times at airports have been less than anticipated and about a quarter of all travelers have proof of their negative test with them when they arrived.  Those with negative tests in hand are able to move through the airport screening very quickly."

Starting this week, the state will be piloting an online application that allows travelers to complete the Alaska Travel Declaration Form via the app, as well as receive results for testing done at the airports. This is being tested at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport by Capstone Clinic with possible expansion statewide. 

"Safe travel is essential to Alaska's economy, and the Alaska way of life. We have a relatively low number of cases in Alaska, and we would like to keep it that way by encouraging safe and responsible travel within the state," said DHSS Commissioner Adam Crum.

For more information on properly preparing for your travels to Alaska, please visit: covid19.alaska.gov/travelers.

SOURCE Alaska Department of Health and Social Services