January 24, 2019 – The Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) announced that Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) passenger traffic reached a new high in 2018, its 50th anniversary year. The 6,460,253 travelers eclipsed the previous record of 6,319,501, set in 2007. Additionally, seven of the 12 months of 2018 set records for monthly passenger traffic at JAX.
“This is an excellent milestone for our organization and Jacksonville as a whole,” said JAA CEO Mark VanLoh. “It’s reflective of the quality work done by the entire JAA team as well as Jacksonville’s status as a dynamic and attractive city.”
The 6.4 million passengers represent a nearly 900,000-passenger increase over 2017, a 16% bump. VanLoh attributes the growth to a number of factors, including carriers adding new destinations, increased flight frequency to existing destinations, larger aircraft flying existing routes, and Frontier and Spirit airlines starting service at JAX.
Moving forward into 2019, JAA expects continued growth as well as customer service enhancements. Southwest has transitioned from weekend-only seasonal service to daily nonstop service to Dallas-Love Field; Spirit starts daily nonstop service to Baltimore and Fort Lauderdale on February 14; Frontier nonstop service to Raleigh-Durham begins April 30; and “The Club JAX”, a shared-use lounge, is expected to open in the terminal during the early summer.
