Jacksonville International Airport is a civil-military public airport 13 miles (21 km) north of

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, in Duval County,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. It is owned and operated by the

Jacksonville Aviation Authority The Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) is the independent government agency that owns and operates the four airports of Jacksonville, Florida, US. It was established in 2001 after being branched off of the Jacksonville Port Authority. History ...

History

Construction started in 1965 on a new airport to handle travel to nearby naval bases. The new airport was dedicated on September 1, 1968, replacing Imeson Field. Terrain precluded lengthening the runways at Imeson, a necessity with the inception of commercial jet airliners. A new idea at JIA was separating departing and arriving passengers on different sides of the terminal (as can be seen in the photo on this page). This is no longer the case, and the airport (which has greatly expanded since the picture was taken) now uses the more typical layout with departing passengers on an upper level with an elevated roadway, and arriving passengers on the lower level. File:JacksonvilleFLairport.jpg, An overhead photo of Jacksonville International Airport circa 1968 File:JIAdedpgm.jpg, A photo of a program from the dedication of Jacksonville International Airport in 1968 The new airport was slow to expand, only serving two million passengers a year by 1982, but it served over five million annually by 1999 and an expansion plan was approved in 2000. The first phase, which included rebuilding the landside terminal, the central square and main concessions area, as well as consolidating the security checkpoints at one location, and more parking capacity was completed in 2004–2005. In 2007, 6,319,016 passengers were processed. The second phase of the expansion program was carried out over three years, commencing in mid-2006 and projected to cost about $170 million. Concourses A and C were completely rebuilt; the former concourses have been demolished. Work on Concourse B was given a low priority because the capacities of the rebuilt Concourses A and C were more than adequate for existing demand. The expansion was designed by

Reynolds, Smith & Hills RS&H, Inc. (RS&H) is an American facilities and infrastructure consulting firm in the United States. The privately held architectural, engineering, planning, and environmental services corporation is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, where ...

(RS&H). The economic downturn of 2009 caused a decrease in passengers and flights. This led the JAA to commence the demolition of Concourse B in June 2009 because it was safer and easier for the contractor. After the debris was removed, asphalt was laid to provide space for ground equipment parking. The concourse will be rebuilt when passenger traffic increases, which the JAA had originally projected would occur in 2013 but did not materialize. A section of the old concourse eventually became part of an airline club lounge which opened in 2019.

Expansion

In 2018, the airport handled 6,460,253 passengers, breaking the previous record set in 2007. 7,186,639 passengers were handled in 2019. This increase in traffic prompted the JAA to revive the plan to rebuild concourse B. The new concourse could open as early as 2022, providing six additional gates and could be expanded later with six more. The design of concourses A and C also allow them to be extended to accommodate additional gates. In 2019, RS&H and

Jacobs Engineering Jacobs Solutions Inc. is an American international technical professional services firm. The company provides engineering, technical, professional and construction services, as well as scientific and specialty consulting for a broad range of cli ...

were chosen to perform the design, while

Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, Balfour Beatty works acr ...

was selected as the construction manager for the concourse B project.

Operations

Facilities

The airport covers and has two concrete

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete ...

s: 08/26, 10,000 x 150 ft (3,048 x 46 m) and 14/32, 7,701 x 150 ft (2,347 x 46 m). The

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devi ...

at JIA is composed of a baggage claim area, on the first floor and a ticketing area on the second floor, at the front of the structure. Past baggage claim and ticketing is the mezzanine, where shops, restaurants and the security checkpoint are located. Beyond the mezzanine are the airport's Concourses A and C, which include 10 gates each (for a total of 20), along with other shops and restaurants. The airport also has a

Delta Sky Club Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along wit ...

on Concourse A and a multi-airline passenger club located behind the airside food court. There are three galleries located off of the main courtyard before the security checkpoint. One features an art exhibit, the second houses a revolving exhibit about a Jacksonville-area landmark or institution, and the third houses a permanent exhibit highlighting the history of aviation in the region. The airport's two runways form a "V" pattern (with the tip of the "V" pointing west). A plan exists to build two more runways, each paralleling one existing runway. The one alongside the existing southern runway will be built first. No date has been set. In the fiscal year ending September 2016 the airport had 101,575 aircraft operations, an average of 278 per day: 58% scheduled commercial, 19%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...

, 15%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

and 8% military. In August 2017, there were 54 aircraft based at this airport: 3 single-engine, 8 multi-engine, 25 jet and 18 military.

Military facilities

Concurrent with the closure of Imeson Airport, the 125th Fighter-Interceptor Group (125 FIG) of the

Florida Air National Guard The Florida Air National Guard (FL ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Florida. It is, along with the Florida Army National Guard (FL ARNG), an element of the Florida National Guard. It is also an element of the Air National Guard (ANG ...

(FANG) relocated to Jacksonville International Airport. Military Construction (MILCON) funds provided for the establishment of Jacksonville Air National Guard Base in the southwest quadrant of the airport and placement of

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

-style emergency

arresting gear An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBA ...

on the JAX runways. Upgraded from group to wing status and redesignated as the

125th Fighter Wing The 125th Fighter Wing (125 FW) is a unit of the Florida Air National Guard, stationed at Jacksonville Air National Guard Base, Florida. If activated to federal service with the United States Air Force, the 125 FW is operationally gained by the A ...

(125 FW) in the early 1990s, the wing is the host unit for Jacksonville ANGB and operates

F-15C The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...

and F-15D Eagle aircraft. The 125 FW is operationally-gained by the

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

(ACC). Jacksonville ANGB is basically a small

air force base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

, albeit without the military housing, military hospital or other infrastructure of major

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

installations. The

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

provides a fully equipped USAF Crash Fire Rescue station to augment the airport's own fire department for both on-airport structural fires and

aircraft rescue and firefighting Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) is a type of firefighting that involves the emergency response, mitigation, evacuation, and rescue of passengers and crew of aircraft involved in aviation accidents and incidents. Airports with schedule ...

(ARFF) purposes. The base employs approximately 300 full-time military personnel ( ART and AGR) and 1,000 part-time military personnel who are traditional air national guardsmen. JAX Airport Gate A3 with Plane

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Passenger traffic

The 2018 fiscal year set a record for passenger numbers at Jacksonville International Airport. Between September 2018 and August 2019, the airport handled 7,067,882 passengers, which was a 16.41% increase from the prior year.

Top destinations

Airline market share

Ground transportation

Jacksonville International Airport has direct public transit service to

Jacksonville Transportation Authority The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is the independent agency responsible for public transit in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, and roadway infrastructure that connects northeast Florida. However, they do not maintain any roadway ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

network. The Route 1 bus connects the airport to downtown Jacksonville, with connections to Greyhound Bus Lines and to the

Jacksonville Skyway The Jacksonville Skyway is an automated people mover in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, operated by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). Opening in 1989 with three stations in Downtown Jacksonville, the Skyway was extended in ...

monorail system.

Accidents and incidents

On October 4, 1971, George M. Giffe Jr. hijacked a plane in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, then forced the pilot to fly to Jacksonville, where Giffe killed his wife, the pilot and himself when cornered by the FBI. On December 6, 1984, Provincetown-Boston Airlines Flight 1039 crashed on takeoff, killing 11 passengers and 2 crew on board. The debris from the Tampa-bound flight burned near Lem Turner Road. The 1986

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

report cited elevator trim control system failure, causing separation of the

horizontal stabilizer A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplan ...

References

External links

Jacksonville International Airport
page at the Jacksonville Aviation Authority website * brochure fro
CFASPP

an extensive history of airline service at JAX
Jacksonville International Airport Arts Commission
official site
JIA ARFF Fire Department
unofficial site * *
{{Authority control Airports in Florida Airports in Jacksonville, Florida Airports in Duval County, Florida 1968 establishments in Florida Northside, Jacksonville Airports established in 1968