JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville International Airport (JIA) is back open after being closed from 8 p.m. Tuesday night until noon Wednesday because of winter storm conditions.
Airport managers told Action News Jax Shanila Kabir that it had been years since JIA closed. They said the last time they could remember the airport closing like this was during Hurricane Irma in 2017. However, they stress just because the airport is now open, that does not mean there will be flights taking off with the normal frequency.
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According to FlightAware, flight delays at JIA jumped from three to more than ten in just a couple of hours on Wednesday afternoon.
Jacksonville resident Grace Roy said her flight to Chicago was canceled, moved to Wednesday morning, and then delayed again.
She said she understands. After all, there is snow and icy conditions in the Sunshine State.
“We’re just rolling with it. We’re flying in before we have to do anything so a day ahead. We’re not too worried,” said Roy.
As of Wednesday morning, there were at least 12 delays at JIA and more than 70 cancellations.
Among the delays was Owen Myer’s flight back to Chicago. He said he did not know he was walking into a closed airport.
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“I walked in here, and it was super confusing. All the gates were down, and all the restaurants were closed. We didn’t find anything out until going to security because that didn’t work out of course,” Myer said.
Michael Stewart with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority said airport management decided to close for many reasons. One main concern was trying to avoid having airport employees drive home in what they called “dangerous driving conditions.”
“The opening of the airport is just an official time that designates the better part of those operations that will be underway. But this will all be contingent upon the airline,” said Michael Stewart, Director of External Affairs at Jacksonville Aviation Authority.
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Stewart said the key to traveling right now is staying up to date on your flight status on the app.
He asks you to keep doing that before you make the drive to JIA. That way, you can avoid more time on icy roads and sitting around for hours, especially if your flight is canceled or delayed.
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