Formerly known as Craig Municipal Airport, Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport (JAXEX) is a mid-sized general aviation facility. To better reflect its role as a corporate reliever for Jacksonville International, Craig Municipal Airport’s name was changed to Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport (JAXEX) in 2011.
JAXEX was originally built in the 1940s, one of six airports in the area developed for military training. In 1946, under the Federal Surplus Properties Act, the US Military gave the airport to the City of Jacksonville, which named the airport after fallen Navy Lt. Commander James Edwin Craig (1901-1941) who was killed in action during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. To preserve the airport’s original namesake, a memorial pavilion was dedicated to Lt. Commander Craig on Friday, July 19, 2013.
The United States Navy’s Blue Angels performed their first air show at the airport on June 15, 1946. The exhibition team flew three Gruman F6F Hellcat Fighter planes.
