DotM January 2025

Airport: KAVX - Catalina Airport, Santa Catalina Island, California, USA

Catalina Island is considered part of Los Angeles County though it is about 30 miles off the mainland. The airport is referred to as the “Airport in the Sky” because it is located at the highest point of the island.  The runway is only 3000ft long and is considered a ‘tabletop runway’ in that it drops off on both sides. 

The airport only serves charter flights though it had scheduled service to Los Angeles in the past.  The island has a residential population but its only city, Avalon, mainly caters to tourism and resorts.  Actors and actresses frequently visit the island providing isolation from the paparazzi.  Much of the island and airport were built by William Wrigley, founder of Wrigley’s gum, in the 1920s.  In 2019, after 70 years of use the runway was in serious need of repair and shut down.  To save on some of the cost, Catalina enlisted the help of the US Marines civil engineering corps who came out and rebuilt the runway as a training exercise.  The repairs were completed and the runway reopened in just 4 months.