FAA closes Jacksonville control center for second time in 10 days

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The federal air traffic control center in Hilliard, which monitors airspace in North Florida and South Georgia, closed again on Wednesday afternoon – the second time the center has closed this year.

The shutdown – which lasts from 4:20 pm to 6:30 pm – comes after another employee tested positive for COVID-19. During that time, aircraft were routed through the airspace or handled by underlying facilities. The facility will be thoroughly cleaned before it reopens.

All flights traveling north from as south as Miami will travel in one line along the Atlantic coastline and will remain at the same altitude until they reach Atlanta airspace. All flights traveling south do the same, but along the Gulf Coast

Flights scheduled to travel across the Gulf Coast to Florida from places like Texas and Louisiana will have to fly at much lower altitudes, meaning more fuel is burned, and so some airlines may choose to simply cancel those flights.

As of 5:10 pm, several flights to and from Jacksonville International Airport were delayed between a few minutes and three hours.

Wednesday’s closure was announced in a tweet from JAX.

Prior to today, the FAA said personnel working at the facility had tested positive on June 22, 25, 26, July 8, 9, 21, September 22, November 19, 28, December 17, and January 3.

When this happened last week, News4Jax aviation expert Ed Booth called the shutdown “totally unprecedented”.

“It’s been open for 80 years now,” said Booth. “And as far as I know, and I’ve been flying around here for 43 years, it hasn’t been closed in those 80 years. So this is a historical event. “

An FAA spokesman said the Hilliard facility will cover panhandle flights to Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa. It also includes flights in Southeast Georgia and South Carolina.