Flights to Juneau: Airlines, Departure Cities, Why There Is No Road and What to Bring

Somewhere over the Inside Passage, the plane drops below the clouds and the Mendenhall Valley, with its dark spruce and braided river, slides into view. That is the moment travelers realize Juneau really is a capital you cannot drive to. Alaska Airlines flies there year-round, Delta adds a seasonal route, and small floatplane and wheeled operators link the town to the villages around it.

Which airlines fly to Juneau?

Alaska Airlines is the main carrier, with year-round scheduled service from Juneau International Airport, and Delta Air Lines and Alaska Seaplanes fill in the rest of the picture. Alaska Airlines is headquartered in the Seattle area, and its primary hub at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport explains why so many itineraries to Juneau pass through that airport. It also has hubs in Anchorage, Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego and San Francisco, so a connection from the West Coast is often built on one of them.

Alaska Airlines offers daily jet service to Juneau from Seattle and Anchorage all year. Its frequent-flyer program is called Atmos Rewards, and the airline belongs to the Oneworld alliance, which matters if you collect miles on a partner carrier.

Alaska Airlines: the year-round jet

From Juneau, Alaska Airlines flies year-round to Anchorage, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Seattle/Tacoma, Sitka and Yakutat. That list tells you something about the region: the same airline that carries you north from Seattle also hops between the small Southeast towns that have no road connection to each other.

There is also a seasonal summer route between Juneau and Gustavus, the gateway to Glacier Bay. If Glacier Bay is on your list, that flight is the airline’s link to it. The airline’s roots go back to McGee Airways, founded in 1932, whose first service ran between Anchorage and Bristol Bay.

Delta: a seasonal option

Delta Air Lines provides seasonal service from Juneau to Seattle/Tacoma. It is a second name to look for when you are comparing the Seattle flight, though it does not operate the whole year, so the dates of your trip decide whether it is an option at all. Together, the two airlines make Seattle the place where travelers from the Lower 48 change planes or start their final leg north.

Alaska Seaplanes: the small-town network

Alaska Seaplanes serves a long list of communities from Juneau: Angoon, Elfin Cove, Excursion Inlet, Gustavus, Haines, Hoonah, Kake, Klawock, Pelican, Petersburg, Sitka, Skagway and Tenakee Springs. Many of these are villages and fishing towns where a plane is how people go to the dentist, the grocery run or a ballgame in the capital.

The airport has its own seaplane landing area alongside its single asphalt runway, a reminder of how much flying here happens on floats. Of all the aircraft movements counted at the airport for one 12-month period, most were air taxis, with scheduled commercial flights a small share.

Which cities fly to Juneau?

Seattle is the only city in the Lower 48 with a direct flight to Juneau, and the rest of the nonstop map is Alaska itself.

Seattle and the Lower 48

If you are coming from Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles or anywhere else south of the border with Canada, the usual pattern is a first flight to Seattle and then the hop to Juneau. Because Alaska Airlines also has hubs in Portland, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles, a connection can sometimes be built without going through Seattle first, but the final leg north is still the Seattle one. Seattle is also the city where the airline and Delta overlap, so it is the place to compare schedules in the months when both fly.

Anchorage and the Southeast towns

Anchorage is the other big jet connection, with daily service all year. Anchorage has daily year-round service to Juneau.

Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka and Yakutat are linked to Juneau by Alaska Airlines, and Sitka and Petersburg also appear on the Alaska Seaplanes list. Those towns are separate islands of road in a region of water, so the plane is the connection, not the afterthought.

Glacier Bay, Haines and Skagway by small plane

Gustavus is the door to Glacier Bay, served in summer by Alaska Airlines and by Alaska Seaplanes. Alaska Seaplanes serves Haines and Skagway from Juneau.

Once you land, Juneau International Airport is just 10 minutes from downtown Juneau. The EVAR / Airport Dike Trail at the airport is open if you want to stretch your legs.

Why can you only fly or sail to Juneau?

Juneau is the capital of Alaska and sits on the North American mainland, yet no road reaches it, so the only ways in are by air or by sea. Because it is relatively remote and not completely accessible by car, Juneau’s tourism office advises travelers to plan transportation early.

The ferry as the sea route

The Alaska Marine Highway System provides year-round ferry transportation to more than 30 coastal communities, and ferries run regularly throughout Southeast Alaska. The Juneau terminal is in Auke Bay, 13.8 miles from town on Glacier Highway.

Ferries can carry vehicles of most sizes, and travelers bringing a vehicle should book well in advance. That is the one way to arrive in Juneau with your own car, and it explains why a driving trip to Alaska’s capital always includes a boat.

Haines: the nearest road connection

The closest port with a road connection to Juneau is Haines. The crossing takes about five hours on the regular ferry or two hours on a catamaran ferry, so Haines is the point where the road system and the water route meet. Juneau can be reached only by air or sea.

Cruise ships in the channel

Between May and September, Juneau gets a daily influx of thousands of visitors from cruise ships. For a traveler who has flown in, that is the season when the waterfront is busiest, and it is a good reason to think about transportation before you arrive. Even in the busy months, the airport remains the connection used by people who live here or are arriving on business.

Good to know before you go

Adults 18 and older must show valid identification at the airport checkpoint. REAL ID enforcement began on May 7, 2025, so a license with a star or the word Enhanced signals readiness, and a passport works in its place. A temporary driver’s license is not accepted. Travelers without an acceptable ID can be charged a $45 fee under the TSA ConfirmID program.