Construction of the airport started in 1965, in order for the city to accommodate a more cosmopolitan populace which was introduced with the sizable military base in the region. Jacksonville International was finally opened on October 31, 1968, replacing the antiquated Imeson Field.[3] A new idea tried in the construction of Jacksonville International was the separating of departing and arriving passengers on two different sides of the terminal (as can be seen in the photo on this page). This is no longer the case though and the airport (which has been greatly expanded since the picture was taken) now utilizes the typical configuration whereby departing passengers are served on an upper level, accessed via an elevated roadway, while arriving passengers utilize the lower level of the terminal.

Initially the airport was slow to expand, only serving two million passengers a year by 1982. However, the addition of more airline service in the late 1980s and early 1990s saw the need for more space in the complex. The airport served over five million passengers annually by 1999, and an airport 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 to a single location, and adding more parking capacity was completed in 2004-2005. In 2007, 6,319,016 passengers were processed.

The Jacksonville International Airport includes onsite accommodations at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center.

The second phase of the expansion program is being carried out over three years, commencing in mid-2006 and is projected to cost about $170 million. It includes demolishing concourses A and C of the airside terminal (which for the most part are built to late-1960's standards), to be completely replaced with more spacious, modern facilities which will also house more gates. These two new concourses are slated to open by the spring of 2009. Concourse B however, will be rebuilt at a later date. Also included in the program is a further expansion of the parking system and a new automated baggage screening system.

In order to accommodate constructing the new airside terminal and apron, most of the western-facing gates in concourses A and C have been permanently closed and their jetways removed.

The new Concourse A is now officially opened and the new Concourse C is also expected to open around August 2008. Both concourses will house 10 gates each and have moving walkways installed. But future plans call for expanding the newly built concourses by year 2020 and possibly adding a people mover system to the airport. Along with the openings of the new concourses will be more shops, restaurants and food choices for travelers pre and post security. The airport is already home to onsite facilities including Starbucks, Chili's, Cinnabon, Sam Adams, Wolfgang Puck, Sam Sneads, Sbarro, Burger King, among others.

Virgin America lists Jacksonville as one of 30 cities it might serve in the next five years.

The airport authority is currently trying to add non-stop flights to Phoenix and San Juan with an eye on establishing charter service to Europe.

Future plans also include connecting the airport with the onsite Clarion Hotel via a moving walkway

Jacksonville International Airport

Jacksonville International Airport (IATA: JAX, ICAO: KJAX, FAA LID: JAX) is a public airport located nine miles (14 km) north of the central business district of Jacksonville, a city in Duval County, Florida, United States.

Construction of the airport started in 1965, in order for the city to accommodate a more cosmopolitan populace which was introduced with the sizable military base in the region. Jacksonville International was finally opened on October 31, 1968, replacing the antiquated Imeson Field.[3] A new idea tried in the construction of Jacksonville International was the separating of departing and arriving passengers on two different sides of the terminal (as can be seen in the photo on this page). This is no longer the case though and the airport (which has been greatly expanded since the picture was taken) now utilizes the typical configuration whereby departing passengers are served on an upper level, accessed via an elevated roadway, while arriving passengers utilize the lower level of the terminal.

Initially the airport was slow to expand, only serving two million passengers a year by 1982. However, the addition of more airline service in the late 1980s and early 1990s saw the need for more space in the complex. The airport served over five million passengers annually by 1999, and an airport 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 to a single location, and adding more parking capacity was completed in 2004-2005. In 2007, 6,319,016 passengers were processed.

The Jacksonville International Airport includes onsite accommodations at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center.

Current expansion activities

The second phase of the expansion program[4] is being carried out over three years, commencing in mid-2006 and is projected to cost about $170 million. It includes demolishing concourses A and C of the airside terminal (which for the most part are built to late-1960's standards), to be completely replaced with more spacious, modern facilities which will also house more gates. These two new concourses are slated to open by the spring of 2009. Concourse B however, will be rebuilt at a later date. Also included in the program is a further expansion of the parking system and a new automated baggage screening system.

In order to accommodate constructing the new airside terminal and apron, most of the western-facing gates in concourses A and C have been permanently closed and their jetways removed.

The new Concourse A is now officially opened and the new Concourse C is also expected to open around August 2008. Both concourses will house 10 gates each and have moving walkways installed. But future plans call for expanding the newly built concourses by year 2020 and possibly adding a people mover system to the airport. Along with the openings of the new concourses will be more shops, restaurants and food choices for travelers pre and post security. The airport is already home to onsite facilities including Starbucks, Chili's, Cinnabon, Sam Adams, Wolfgang Puck, Sam Sneads, Sbarro, Burger King, among others.

Virgin America lists Jacksonville as one of 30 cities it might serve in the next five years.[5]

The airport authority is currently trying to add non-stop flights to Phoenix and San Juan with an eye on establishing charter service to Europe.

Future plans also include connecting the airport with the onsite Clarion Hotel via a moving walkway.

Facilities and aircraft

Jacksonville International Airport covers an area of 7,911 acres (3,201 ha) which contains two concrete paved runways: 7/25 measuring 10,000 x 150 ft. (3,048 x 46 m) and 13/31 measuring 7,701 x 150 ft. (2,347 x 46 m).[1]

The airport's two runways are laid out in "V" configuration (with the bottom tip of the "V" pointing West). A long-range plan exists to build two additional runways, each paralleling one of the existing runways. A new runway alongside the existing southern runway will be built first, however, no date has been set yet for implementing the runway expansion plan (the expectation is that construction of the third runway would take place around 2015).

For the 12-month period ending July 30, 2006, the airport had 121,279 aircraft operations, an average of 332 per day: 48% scheduled commercial, 30% air taxi, 17% general aviation, and 5% military. There are 47 aircraft based at this airport: 13% single-engine, 15% multi-engine, 28% jet and 45% military.

Jacksonville International Airport's terminal has 3 concourses.

Delta Air Lines is the only scheduled airline to provide service to Jacksonville International Airport on widebody aircraft. Delta widebody aircraft (mostly the Boeing 767-300, occasionally the Boeing 767-400ER) are regularly-scheduled on the route to/from Jacksonville International Airport to/from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Virgin Atlantic Airways became the first airline to operate the Boeing 747-400 into the airport when Virgin flight 75 from Manchester Airport to Orlando International Airport was diverted on July 31, 2007.

An LTU International Airways flight from Dusseldorf, Germany to Miami, Florida was also the first airline to operate the Airbus A330-300 into Jacksonville International Airport for an emergency landing due to right engine failure on October 8, 2007. All 239 passengers onboard the aircraft were processed through a rarely used US Customs and Immigration facility located under Concourse C before officially entering the United States.

What is now the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, located on the grounds of JIA, originally opened as the Jacksonville Airport Hilton Hotel & Towers.