
A chronicle of the daily challenges of the airport staff who manage to keep the facility open, freight flowing and passengers flying all despite weather that regularly dips to -36 degrees and wind speeds that typically exceed 100 mph.

Pilots fly over the dangerous Brooks Mountains, so engineers can fix a remote weather station; a veteran pilot tests a rookie on their bush plane landings; crews fight ice and wind to save a winter festival; engineers race to repair a 737.

A lone bush pilot races to stock ultra-marathon checkpoints, a heli pilot risks a sling-load at 4,000 feet and comes inches from disaster, and a vintage DC-3 plane is a village's only lifeline as a storm closes in.

A suspected toxic leak grounds a Boeing 737 at Anchorage International, engine trouble endangers the midair refuelling of the USAF's most advanced fighter jets, and a discovery at Anchorage customs uncovers clues to an international smuggling ring.

A national snowstorm brings U.S. aviation to a standstill, but Anchorage fights through the storm; USAF aircrews endure the toughest survival training on Alaska's North Slope, and a veteran aircraft flies life-saving cargo.