Diamond NN Cannery Airport

The closure was due to economic and logistical redundancy. The airport was a small, private, unpaved airstrip serving the adjacent cannery. The nearby Naknek Airport (IATA: NAK, ICAO: PANK), located just across the Naknek River, is a much larger, state-maintained public airport with paved runways, modern navigation aids, and year-round services. It became far more cost-effective, safer, and efficient for the cannery to consolidate its air transport needs (for both personnel and freight) at the superior public facility, rendering its own private strip obsolete.

The site of the former airport is now fully integrated into the industrial operations of the Diamond NN Cannery, which is owned and operated by Trident Seafoods. The former runway area is used for equipment and shipping container storage, vehicle parking, and as a general staging and laydown yard for cannery activities. While the faint outline of the runway is still visible from satellite view, it is completely obstructed and overgrown, making it unusable for any aviation purposes.

The Diamond NN Cannery Airport was a private airstrip that served as a vital logistical link for the Diamond NN Cannery, one of the largest and oldest salmon processing facilities in the Bristol Bay region. Its primary function was to support the highly seasonal operations of the cannery. It handled small charter and bush aircraft (such as Cessna 206/207s, Piper Navajos, and De Havilland Beavers/Otters) that transported cannery management, specialized technicians, and time-sensitive, high-value cargo or critical repair parts. The airport was essential for connecting the remote cannery to the broader transportation network before the nearby public infrastructure became the standard for all local operations.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Diamond NN Cannery Airport. Its reopening is considered extremely improbable. The existence of the superior Naknek Airport (PANK) just minutes away negates any practical need for this private strip. Reviving the airport would require significant investment to clear, regrade, and potentially certify the runway, which is economically and logistically unjustifiable given the excellent public alternative.