The FAA closes the Jacksonville control center for the second time in 10 days

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Hilliard’s federal air traffic control center that controls airspace throughout North Florida and South Georgia closed again Wednesday afternoon, the second time the center has closed this year.

The closure, which will last from 4: 20-6: 30 p.m., comes after another employee tested positive for COVID-19. During this time, the aircraft were routed around the airspace or handled by underlying facilities. The installation will be thoroughly cleaned before reopening.

All flights traveling north from the south to Miami will travel in a single line of files along the Atlantic coast and will remain at the same altitude until they reach Atlanta airspace. All flights traveling south will do the same but along the Gulf Coast

Flights scheduled to travel along the Gulf Coast to Florida from places such as Texas and Louisiana will have to fly at much lower altitudes, which means burning more fuel, which is why some airlines may choose to simply cancel these flights. .

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

Wednesday’s closing was announced in a JAX tweet.

Earlier today, the FAA said that staff working at the facility tested positive on July 22, 25, 26, 8, November 9, 21, 22, 19, 28, December 17, and January 3.

When this happened last week, News4Jax aviation expert Ed Booth said the closure was “totally unprecedented.”

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

An FAA spokesman said the Hilliard facility covers flights from Panhandle to Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa. It also covers flights to southeast Georgia and South Carolina.