Passengers must still board through security gates when Alaska Airlines switches to turboprop aircraft for flights from Fairbanks to Anchorage.
Airline spokesman Tim Thompson says the Transportation Security Administration requires security screenings for aircraft with more than 60 seats. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reportsthe Q400s that will replace the larger 737 jets have 76 seats.
The airline recently announced that it plans to replace most of the jets it flies between Fairbanks and Anchorage with three turboprop planes, beginning next March, freeing up the jets to be used for new routes between Anchorage and the Lower 48.
Era Aviation, which flies smaller planes, boards its turboprops with service to Anchorage through the regional airline section of the Fairbanks terminal. That means passengers don't have to go through security.