Alaska Time (AKT)
Anchorage operates on Alaska Time (AKT). This time zone does not observe Daylight Saving Time.
Time Zone: Alaska Time (AKT) — Standard Offset: UTC-9 (AKST) — DST Offset: UTC-8 (AKDT)
Country: United States
This city observes Daylight Saving Time, so the UTC offset changes twice per year. Always verify the current offset when scheduling across time zones.
Anchorage operates on Alaska Time, one hour behind Pacific Time and four hours behind Eastern. Alaska is the only US state that spans the Alaska Time Zone (UTC-9) and also extends into the Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone in the Aleutian Islands. Despite the remote time zone, Anchorage is a surprisingly important logistics hub — Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is one of the busiest cargo airports in the world, positioned on the great circle route between North America and Asia.
Alaska's high latitude creates extreme daylight variation. Anchorage gets about 22 hours of functional daylight at the summer solstice and barely 5.5 hours at the winter solstice. Alaska does observe DST, shifting from AKST (UTC-9) to AKDT (UTC-8). During AKDT, Alaska aligns with Pacific Standard Time — meaning Alaska and the West Coast are on the same clock for a few weeks in March before the West Coast also springs forward.
Scheduling with Anchorage from the Lower 48 requires patience. At 9 AM ET, it's 5 AM in Anchorage (4 AM during EST). The realistic overlap for East Coast to Alaska business is 1 PM to 5 PM ET (9 AM to 1 PM AKT). For West Coast coordination, the 1-hour gap is manageable. Alaska's oil, fishing, and tourism industries are the primary drivers of business scheduling needs.
Anchorage's position as a cargo hub adds a time zone dimension to global logistics. FedEx and UPS use Anchorage as a refueling and sorting stop for Asia-to-US shipments. Packages arriving from Asian factories transit through Anchorage in the Alaska time zone before continuing to US destinations. The airport handles over 3 million metric tons of cargo annually, making AKT relevant to global supply chain timing.