Santa arrives late in Alaska

Christmas presents are just arriving in many remote Alaskan communities. That’s because non-priority mail often takes a month or more to move from the central post office in Anchorage, Alaska, to the Aleutian Island chain.

Agafon Krukoff, the mayor of Adak, said even priority mail can occasionally take up to two or three weeks to reach his Aleutian Island village, population 316.

“It’s a ridiculous situation,” Krukoff told the Anchorage Daily News.

For years Adak was a U.S. Navy base, and before that the army used the island to mount a World War II counter-offensive against Japanese troops. The military is now preparing to transfer the base to the Aleut Development Corporation, which wants to transform the facility into a commercial fishing center and transportation hub.

Krukoff said the problem of mail delivery worsened when Reeve Aleutian Airways went out of business last December and its jet flights to Adak stopped. Another airline now combines both passenger and mail service using smaller planes. Passengers and their bags get priority over mail on those flights, but mail goes before freight.

Krukoff said his goal is to get jet service back for Adak.