Jackson-Evers International Airport

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Jackson-Evers International Airport

IATA: JAN – ICAO: KJAN – FAA: JAN
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		City of Jackson
Serves		Jackson, Mississippi
Elevation AMSL		346 ft / 105 m
Coordinates		32°18′40″N 090°04′33″W / 32.31111, -90.07583
Website		www.jmaa.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
16L/34R	8,500	2,591	Asphalt
16R/34L	8,500	2,591	Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations			68,378
Based aircraft			45
Sources: ^[1] and FAA^[2]

Jackson-Evers International Airport (IATA: JAN, ICAO: KJAN, FAA LID: JAN) is a city-owned, public-use airport located five nautical miles (9 km) east of the central business district of Jackson, Mississippi, (United States), across the Pearl River in Rankin County.^[2]

It services commercial, private, and military aviation. It is named after Medgar Evers, the former Mississippi Field Secretary for the NAACP, and is administered by the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA), which also oversees aviation activity at Hawkins Field (HKS) in northwest Jackson.

1 History
2 Facilities and aircraft
3 Airlines and destinations
- 3.1 East Concourse
- 3.2 West Concourse
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

The land that is now Jackson-Evers International Airport was first dedicated in 1963 as a new commercial and military air facility to replace Hawkins Field, which had served as Jackson's first airport and been operating since 1928. Delta Air Lines's inaugural flight, from Dallas-Love Field, landed at Hawkins Field in 1929. The new 1963 facility was named Allen C. Thompson Field (after the Mayor of Jackson at the time, who was presumably instrumental in obtaining the land for the airfield), which remains the name for the land on which the airport is built. The airport was designated "Jackson Municipal Airport."

In the early 1990s, the airport's name was changed to "Jackson International Airport," to reflect the fact that it has the facilities to serve international flights, even though the airport does not currently do so. The airport does contain an office for U.S. Customs to service international arrivals and has established a Foreign Trade Zone.

Recent improvements to the facilities include a new covered garage for long-term parking. In 1997 Southwest Airlines began service to Jackson from Chicago, Baltimore, Houston, and Orlando. Currently, the airport services approximately 247 aircraft per day. Following a decision made by the Jackson City Council in December 2004, on 22 January 2005 the airport name was officially changed to Jackson-Evers International Airport. In 2006, the airport authority received a federal grant (Small Community Air Service Development) to recruit non-stop flight service to Newark to provide Jackson with non-stop service to the New York City metropolitan area. Continental Airlines commenced service from Jackson to Newark; however, due to high fuel costs, the route is scheduled to be terminated in the summer of 2008.

[edit] Facilities and aircraft

Jackson-Evers International Airport covers an area of 3,381 acres (1,368 ha) at an elevation of 346 feet (105 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways designated 16L/34R and 16R/34L, each with a 8,500 x 150 ft (2,591 x 46 m) asphalt surface.^[2]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2007, the airport had 68,378 aircraft operations, an average of 187 per day: 32% air taxi, 28% military, 24% general aviation and 16% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 45 aircraft based at this airport: 20% single-engine, 36% multi-engine, 22% jet, 4% helicopter and 18% military.^[2]

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Jackson-Evers International Airport in July 2005. View from the West Concourse looking east across the tarmac. The plane in the foreground is a Canadair Regional Jet operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, soon to depart for Washington-Reagan National Airport. Behind it is one of Delta Air Lines' numerous McDonnell-Douglas MD-88s, about to depart for Atlanta.