At an Oct. 9 Kenai Airport Commission meeting, commissioners and airport users heard that Crowley Fuel plans to remove its self-serve fuel pumps at the Kenai airport after receiving a state directive to move underground tanks; the change could reduce on-field jet fuel availability and complicate training, maintenance and diversion operations.

Mary Bondurant, acting airport manager, told the commission she and another city official have a meeting scheduled with Crowley representatives the next morning to discuss logistics and options. "I have a meeting ... tomorrow morning with the Crowley people at 08:30," Bondurant said. She said the company is under a state deadline to remove underground tanks and that the change was reported to the airport only two days before the meeting.

Pilots and operators present described operational impacts if on-field self-serve jet fuel disappears. One pilot and operator representing training and maintenance operations said crews rely on local jet fuel for maintenance, training flights and diversions; without it, flights could be forced to reposition to Anchorage or other fields. "An airport is not an airport without fuel availability," a pilot said. Another operator noted that the city does not offer jet fuel at its public fuels and that some training flights would be unable to return to Kenai after weather diversions without a local jet fuel source.

Commissioners and users discussed interim and longer-term options: above-ground tank systems and card lock arrangements used elsewhere in rural Alaska; temporary transfer-pod setups; increased use of fuel trucks; or encouraging an FBO at the field to provide fuel services. Bondurant said the airport currently stores about 700 gallons at the float plane basin and that Crowley's on-site hours have been limited to Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., which has previously constrained after-hours service. "We're gonna have to do [something]," Bondurant said when asked whether city pumps would be available year-round at the float pond.

No formal commission action was recorded at the Oct. 9 meeting on fuel vendor replacement or emergency fueling plans. Commissioners asked staff to continue engagement with Crowley and to report back on viable solutions; Bondurant said she will meet with Crowley and provide an update.

The discussion underscored the operational importance of on-field fuel for training providers, maintenance operators and commercial flights, and commissioners described the issue as a high operational priority that could affect diversions to Kenai from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in adverse weather.