Cordova is a city in Alaska, United States. It lies near the mouth of the Copper River, at the head of Orca Inlet on the east side of Prince William Sound. Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located 11 nautical miles (13 mi, 20 km) southeast of the central business district of Cordova, a city in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska which has no road access to the outside world. The airport is named after Merle K. Smith, also known as "Mudhole", a pilot who in 1939 became president of Cordova Airlines, which used the airport as a hub between 1934 and 1968. Alaska Airlines operates Boeing 737 jets to the airport, the largest airplanes flying to Cordova.