Alaska’s avgas anxiety

As the quest to make general aviation lead-free by 2030 continues, pilots and aircraft owners in Alaska are apprehensive about the final solution.

At the recent 2025 Alaska Air Carriers Association Convention, the two sessions that received the most attention — at least from piston-engine aircraft operators — were the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emission (EAGLE) presentation and the Alaska Unleaded Avgas Transition Forum.

Launched in 2022, EAGLE is a government-industry initiative consisting of the aviation and petroleum industries and U.S. government agencies, along with a wide range of other constituents and interested parties, working toward the transition to lead-free aviation fuels for piston-engine aircraft by the end of 2030 without compromising the safety or economic health of the general aviation industry.

Unlike most of the U.S., where freight carriers primarily operate turbine-powered aircraft, the need to operate from many of Alaska’s shorter, unimproved runways requires the use of a variety of piston-engine aircraft, ranging from small Piper Super Cubs to large cargo DC-3s and -6s, according to officials with the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).

“Alaska is totally unique in business aviation due to its strong dependence on piston-engine aircraft,” said Phil Derner, NBAA director, Western region. “A significant majority of the rural villages don’t have any access by road, so everything they need for daily life must be delivered by ‘air mail.’ Any disruption would have catastrophic effects.”

“Alaskan aircraft operators view the EAGLE initiative as a proactive, problem-solving effort aimed at finding a safe, reliable, and cost-effective replacement for 100 low-lead before it becomes unavailable,” said Will Day, executive director of the Alaska Air Carriers Association. “Without a dependable source of avgas, many Alaskans would lose their only access to numerous critical services, including medical care, groceries, and mail.”

While many wish the solution to be a drop-in 100LL replacement, it’s not that simple, according to NBAA officials. With the wide array of engine types in use throughout Alaska, aircraft owners are worried that whatever the final replacement fuel is, it won’t be immediately approved for all these engine types.

This is a common concern for owners of legacy aircraft. It is possible that these engines will not achieve optimal performance on a new fuel or may require expensive modifications to achieve the required performance and reliability requirements, officials noted.

“To provide an alternative in Alaska, the candidate fuel must be thoroughly tested and approved to meet safety standards,” Day said. “Alaska is unique in its infrastructure. In many remote locations, aviation fuel is often stored for up to a year in temperatures ranging from minus 50° to above 100°. It must be very stable.

“Because much of the fuel reserves have to be barged or flow into the villages, the statewide fuel infrastructure cannot support multiple avgas types,” he added. “And that will make it impractical to offer 100 low-lead alongside an unleaded alternative. It would just be too difficult and expensive.”

Both Derner and Day stressed that one of the strongest messages shared during the event was that whatever the final alternative fuel is, it will only be selected after passing a battery of safety and performance tests.

Day emphasized that regardless of the final fuel selection, Alaskan aircraft owners will only utilize it when they are certain it is safe, stable and affordable.

“An unproven transition could lead to safety risks, increased costs, and operational disruptions, affecting essential services in Alaska,” he said.

Derner added that while many questions remain, meetings like this are critical to keeping the entire general aviation community informed about the evolving situation.

“These sessions offered us a great opportunity to personally engage with our Alaskan friends and partners to show them what EAGLE is working on,” he said. “And to assure them of our dedication to finding a safe and accessible solution that will satisfy all of Alaska’s unique needs.”

For more information: NBAA.org, FlyEAGLE.org