Imperiled Museum Opened for One Day

A little background... Persons intent upon visiting the National Naval Aviation Museum on the grounds of the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, FL are greeted with the following:

Important Visitor Information

The National Naval Aviation Museum is open Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. to current Department of Defense (DoD) ID cardholders. 

Access to NAS Pensacola is limited to current Department of Defense (DoD) ID card holders (active duty service members, retirees, and their families) and Veterans who possess a Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC) from the Department of Veterans Affairs that displays the Veteran’s eligibility status.  

DoD ID card holders can escort guests as part of the Trusted Traveler Program, but must remain with their guests at all times.

Unless sponsored through the Trusted Traveler program, no civilians will be granted access onto the base until further notice, and thus will not be able to access the National Naval Aviation Museum.

We have established a special visitor information line at 850-452-8450 for answers to your questions about visiting the museum. Plan your visit today!

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The rationale is this... On the morning of December 6, 2019, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, an aviation student from Saudi Arabia, carried out a terrorist attack on the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, FL. Alshamrani shot and killed three men and injured eight others before he was killed in turn by Escambia County sheriff deputies.  

In response to the attack, U.S. Navy officials imposed heightened security measures at the base. These measures included severely limiting access to the National Naval Aviation Museum—thereby drastically and deleteriously impacting the museum’s visitation numbers and revenue. 

Admiral Kyle Cozad (pictured), President and CEO of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation states, “We’re not in a save the museum mode quiet yet, but there is a significant financial drain.”

The admiral reports the museum welcomed 724,000 visitors between 2018 and 2019. Since the security measures were enacted, the facility has seen an average of only 200,000 people a year. The decrease represents a $3.5-million drop in yearly revenue. “I’m taking money out of our investment account just to kind of keep our nose at water level,” Cozad asserts.

A recent petition to re-open the base garnered nearly 6,000 signatures. Florida State Senator Doug Broxson says getting public access back to the base is a sensitive topic, but local leaders are still committed to working with the Navy for purpose of seeing the base—and by extension, the museum—opened to the public. 

Broxson maintains local leaders plan to have future meetings with [NAS Pensacola] base leadership about public access. A date has not yet been set. 

In the interim, the base was open for one day only—04 June—in honor of the Battle of Midway. A celebration took place at the museum to commemorate the occasion.

FMI: https://www.navalaviationmuseum.org