Qualla: Catalina Airport

Catalina Airport: Introduction

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit CC BY-SA 2.0. The runway at Catalina Airport ends at the edge of a cliff. Approach from the wrong direction in strong southwest winds and a downdraft can push your aircraft toward the ground. Land too fast and you might roll off the far end before you realize the pavement continues beyond what you can see. This is the Airport in the Sky, perched near the highest point of Santa Catalina Island, where pilots have been testing their skills since the 1940s. Many aircraft rental agencies refuse to let customers fly here without completing a special Catalina checkout first.

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Image: CC BY-SA 2.0

Catalina Airport: Buffalo Springs

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 4.0. The airfield began as Buffalo Springs Airport, a name drawn from the island's interior springs. In autumn 1942, the United States Army Air Forces took control of the facility to support military activities on the island during World War II. The Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Maritime S...

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Image: Don Ramey Logan | CC BY-SA 4.0

Catalina Airport: The Airline Era

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit OrdinaryScarlett, CC0. Commercial aviation came to Catalina in the early 1950s, when United Airlines began scheduled service with Douglas DC-3 aircraft flying nonstop to Long Beach and connecting to Los Angeles International. Catalina Air Lines followed with de Havilland Doves serving LAX and Burbank. ...

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Image: OrdinaryScarlett | CC0

Catalina Airport: The Tabletop Challenge

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Spartan7W, CC BY-SA 3.0. Runway 4/22 is what pilots call a tabletop runway, built on a flattened hilltop with terrain dropping away on all sides. The asphalt extends nearly to the edges of the plateau, with the far end becoming visible only as an aircraft approaches the crest. Pilots unfamiliar with the ...

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Image: Spartan7W | CC BY-SA 3.0

Catalina Airport: Marines on the Mountain

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Spartan7W, CC BY-SA 3.0. By the 2010s, seventy years of use had left the asphalt runway crumbling, requiring hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual maintenance. The Aeronautics Division of Caltrans directed the Catalina Island Conservancy to develop a long-term repair plan. The solution came from an ...

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Image: Spartan7W | CC BY-SA 3.0

Catalina Airport: Island Gateway

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Today the Catalina Island Conservancy owns and operates the airport, permitting air charter and general aviation access. Daily airfreight deliveries keep the island supplied with goods from the mainland. Film crews have used the location, including the 1979 comedy The In-Laws, wh...

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Image: Don Ramey Logan | CC BY-SA 4.0