April 4, 2019

The Jacksonville Aviation Authority contributes more than $6 billion a year to the Jacksonville economy, according to a new study released by the Florida Department of Transportation Wednesday.

The study included direct impacts, like employee salaries, and indirect impacts, like visitor spending and employee spending. It studied the four airports under JAA's authority: Jacksonville International Airport, Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport, Cecil Airport and Herlong Recreational Airports.

“As this FDOT study shows, our aviation system is a significant contributor to Northeast Florida’s economy,” JAA CEO MarkVanLoh said in a statement. “The expected growth at each of our four airports will continue fueling the region’s financial health.” 

JIA makes the biggest impact of JAA's airports, generating almost $3.2 billion and supporting more than 26,000 jobs. Cecil came in second with an impact of almost $3 billion and about 11,000 jobs. JaxEx, a comparatively small general aviation airport,contributes $100 million, and Herlong Recreational generates $52 million.

FDOT estimates that the state's 20 commercial service airports, 100 public-use airports and 11 military airports contribute $175 billion to the Florida economy.