Summertime travel is sizzling again: What does it mean at Jacksonville's airport?

Summertime travelers are flying the friendly skies in near-record numbers in Jacksonville and beyond as memories of pandemic lockdowns appear to be rapidly fading.

But as numbers rebound after two moribund years of COVID-19 restrictions and fears, travelers face some major issues flying in Florida and beyond these days and those on the ground have their own problems, experts said.

Jacksonville airport officials say this year's Memorial Day traveler numbers were within 5% of the same weekend in pre-pandemic 2019, making for a very busy time as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes.

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But with a summertime relatively free of pandemic concerns after two years of masks, proof of vaccine mandates and just sheer nervousness about traveling, airport spokesman Michael Stewart said it has been good to see travel numbers rebounding. The airport expects it to be "about the same as 2019," meaning busy during the July 4 holiday week, he said.

"We will have the same challenges that we faced on Memorial Day weekend," Stewart said. "Those equate to staffing on several entities: the airlines, TSA, the concessions and those sorts of things. We are ready to handle that, and we expect that if travelers come to the airport sufficiently in time enough and ready to go through screening, then it really helps out overall operations."

Almost 2.2 million Floridians were estimated to have traveled 50 miles or more from home over the Memorial Day holiday, an 8.3% increase over 2021, AAA Auto Club Group spokesman Mark Jenkins said. It doesn't seem to be slowing down heading into Independence Day, with 183,000 Floridians estimated to fly during that holiday for a 2% rise over last year, although still about 6% below 2019, Jenkins said.

"Travel numbers are actually forecast to surpass 2019 levels in some fields, auto travel specifically," Jenkins said. "Despite higher gas prices, auto travel is looking to be about 2% stronger than pre-pandemic levels. And looking at air travel, it's not quite back to pre-pandemic levels but still very strong and much stronger than a year ago."

Changes in the air, unmasked ripple effect

The first big change in air travel occurred on April 18 when the federal government lifted the mandate requiring masks be worn in airports and on jetliners due to the pandemic.

The result — a travel spike that began this spring with the second-highest single-year increase in travelers since 2010, just under the record 2021 volumes, AAA said.

"More and more people are feeling comfortable flying again compared to last year, as there was still some hesitation for the pandemic," Jenkins said. "But we are still just not quite back to where we were before."

NBC News reported last week that air passenger numbers had rebounded nationally to 87% of pre-pandemic travel, as logged on FlightAware, which tracks flights in real-time. And Jacksonville International Airport statistics show that 48,496 passengers flew there from May 27 to 31, compared to 39,991 in the same Memorial Day holiday period in 2021, only 8,875 in 2020 and 53,143 in pre-pandemic 2019.

But a pilot shortage and other issues mean those travelers faced increasing flight cancellations. One example: By noon on June 17, 2,674 U.S. flights had already been canceled and 9,783 delayed as the peak summer vacation season heats up, 17 cancellations alone in Jacksonville, FlightAware said.

That's the same problem fliers faced over the Memorial Day rush as more than 20,000 flights were delayed, and 2,800 U.S. flights canceled from that Friday to Monday, according to FlightAware.

Delta announced on its website that weather and air traffic control, vendor staffing, plus increased COVID-19 case rates contributed to delays, according to USA Today. And many airlines have thousands less employees than they did in 2019, adding to widespread flight cancellations.

Remembering those past delays and armed with concerns for more in the summer weeks ahead, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg conducted a virtual meeting on June 15 with the CEOs of America's major airlines.

Buttigieg told them "this is a moment when we are really counting on them to deliver reliably for the traveling public,” according to NBC News. He also asked the CEOs to describe steps they are taking to operate smoothly over the July 4 holiday and the rest of the summer.

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The head of trade group Airlines for America, Nicholas Calio, said industry officials appreciated the chance to talk with Buttigieg and “discuss our shared commitment to prioritizing the safety and security of all travelers" in a statement sent to The Times-Union.

"U.S. airlines always strive to provide a safe and seamless journey and recognize the importance of continued partnership between our industry and the federal government to ensure aviation remains the safest mode of transportation in the world," the statement said.

Those cancellation issues "were the real challenge" for Memorial Day weekend, Stewart said. But he said traveler numbers have been building back up over recent months after a two-year lull during the pandemic.

"They were just ready to get out and travel again and those numbers were larger than the experts felt they would be at this point," he said. "It's a good thing, and I think we would be above pre-COVID numbers if international travel were back at the pre-COVID levels."

Better times ahead

There is good news for local air travelers after the Federal Aviation Administration added 30 new controllers to the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center in Hilliard. The facility handles about 160,000 square miles of airspace traffic in Alabama, Georgia, Florida as well as North and South Carolina.

The FAA said it does not have a system-wide air traffic controller shortage. But it said in a statement to The Times-Union that "numerous factors" are contributing to air travel delays and cancellations in Florida as the FAA works with airlines to keep aircraft moving safely when weather and other airspace events constrain capacity.

"The number-one cause for delays and cancellation of flights by airlines is convective weather in Florida. Second is demand for travel to Florida," the statement said. "... The FAA is placing additional air traffic controllers at facilities in Florida to support our long-term strategy of staffing to increased traffic demand. More controllers have been added to the team in Jacksonville to help with the demand."

Another summertime change in air travel: The U.S. just announced it no longer requires a pre-departure COVID-19 test to enter the country. This comes more than a year after the country started requiring a negative test for entry and more than two years since the pandemic began, USA Today reported.

All that news out of Washington could portend better times for air travelers, Jenkins said.

"Any time that you have the government stepping in to try to provide relief of any sort when it comes to travel, to make things work more smoothly, is a great thing for the consumer," he said.

One specific issue facing Jacksonville fliers had been "full" signs being posted at the airport's daily garage and surface areas, as well as Economy Lot 1 on many recent summer days. For example, on June 16, only the hourly garage, valet parking and Economy Lot 2 still had room, according to its website at flyjacksonville.com/Home.aspx.

Airport officials were doing some structural work to the parking garage in 2018 and 2019, Stewart said. Then they began repaving 600 parking spots in one of its economy lots as well as the area next to a garage and terminal "that needed to be done," Stewart said. But the surface lot should be done fully this week, while Economy Lot 1 should be done just after July 4, opening up all spots.

Either way, Stewart emphasized the familiar message to any summer air traveler: Get to the airport at least two hours early to park, get through security and check bags just in case of a delay or worse. And don't worry about any impact from post-pandemic  changes and future expansion at Jacksonville's airport — yet.

A new concourse and restaurant choices

A new $300 million concourse at Jacksonville International Airport is slated to get started in October with an overhaul of the checkpoint area for travelers and a new six-gate concourse by mid-2025. The Jacksonville Aviation Authority put that on hold in 2020 when the pandemic caused air travel to drastically slow but resumed work last year by authorizing $3 million to finish designs.

Air travelers can expect some construction impact next summer, Stewart said.

"We will be redoing the TSA checkpoint and screening area, but that won't start until after the summer travel," he said.

More airlines also are expanding into Jacksonville, with Breeze Airways being the 10th and latest with nonstop service to seven cities starting in May. In the last year, Allegiant Air added flights, as did Sun Country Airlines, Frontier, American Airlines and JetBlue.

New restaurants are at the airport to take advantage of higher traffic.

For those who pass through TSA screening, Southern Grounds & Co. Café opened in Concourse A, while a second one is planned pre-security. security. Burrito Gallery will open in early 2023 in Concourse A near Southern Grounds. Firehouse Subs plans to move to Concourse C as work starts on the new Concourse B. And BurgerFi will replace the Brooks Brothers retail store in Concourse A.

Pain in the gas

On the highways, AAA said an estimated 100,000 more Floridians took a Memorial Day road trip this year, 5.4% more than last year’s holiday weekend. And 90% of holiday travelers drove rather than flew, Jenkins said. But as summer holiday road traffic surges, so does the dramatic rise in gasoline prices.

The national average price for gasoline exceeded $5 a gallon in early June in 21 states and the District of Columbia, while Florida's state average was closing in. Predictions show it continuing to rise in the short run in Florida, after an average 13-cent hike in the first week of June, Jenkins said.

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"It's likely to be the most expensive gas prices for Independence Day as a record," Jenkins said. "... But we are actually seeing some downward movements in prices and that actually could provide a little bit of a break from the recent jump at the pump."

Florida gas prices were about 65% more expensive than a year ago as of mid-June, costing $72 to fill an average-sized 15-gallon tank of gas, or $28 more than what drivers paid this time last year, AAA said.

To check gas price averages by county, state or nationwide, go to gasprices.AAA.com.

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville airport almost at pre-pandemic summer travel levels