Will Support Operations During NAS JAX Runway Renovations

After returning to civilian use as the result of the Base Realignment and Closure process in the 1990s, Cecil Field, a former Navy Master Jet Base in northeast Florida, will once again see Naval aircraft operating from its runways ... but only on a temporary basis.

The Navy is set to renovate the runways at Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS JAX) beginning in June, and has leased one million square feet of existing space at its former jet base for temporary operations while that construction work takes place. And along with the air traffic, it means that thousands of military and civilian personnel will also be commuting to the base on Jacksonville's west side on a daily basis.

At a Jacksonville Aviation Authority board meeting Monday, JAA CEO Steve Grossman said that the temporary move means that the personnel and aircraft will not have to be scattered to bases all over the country. He estimated that about 4,000 people already work at Cecil Airport, which is also a commercially licensed spaceport, and bringing the Navy to the field will double that number.

Grossman said that the community around the airport, which is a growing industrial area, has been very supportive of the plan. "One of the really great things about Cecil is how supportive people out there have been of all of our efforts, particularly with economic development," he said.

The Navy has not announced how many or which types of aircraft will be relocated to Cecil.

FMI: www.jaa.aero