Members of the Jacksonville Aviation Authority Board said around 600 parking spaces are closed indefinitely after the massive fire Friday.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA), the group responsible for managing operations at Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), provided a status update on parking services Monday morning. This comes after a significant fire incident on Friday led to the destruction of vehicles and a partial structural failure in the airport’s hourly parking garage.
The parking garage fire caused the airport to close and ground flights for more than four hours Friday afternoon.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department reported that the blaze likely began around noon within a vehicle on the second level of the hourly parking garage. The fire expanded to involve approximately 50 additional vehicles and resulted in a partial collapse affecting two levels of the structure.
During a meeting, JAA board members announced that approximately half of the hourly parking garage, equating to around 600 parking spaces, would be accessible to drivers starting Wednesday. This will allow those with cars parked in the unaffected sections to retrieve their vehicles.
JAA CEO Mark VanLoh said notifications would be sent out Tuesday to those parked inside the northern end of the garage with times they could pick up their car. VanLoh said that portion of the hourly garage would become operational at a point after those cars are removed.
Monday afternoon, officials at the airport said in a post on X that experts were working to determine which parts of the garage were safe for people to access, and those with their cars in the garage would be notified in the next 48 hours on when they could pick up their car.
Airport officials also said parking fees would be waived for those inside the garage.
Airport officials are still working to learn what caused the fire. Monday, officials said a car caused the fire, confirming information given Friday by JFRD after the fire’s initial investigation, but did not specify what type of car caught fire, or whether it was accidentally or intentionally set.
VanLoh said only Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and investigators are allowed inside the collapsed portion of the garage.
JAA set up an online form for those parked inside the hourly garage to get updates from the airport on the status of their cars and when they can pick them up.
