Gulf Shores International Airport/Jack Edwards Field is a public use airport in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. It is owned by Gulf Shores Airport Authority and located two nautical miles (4 km) north of the City of Gulf Shores. Also known as Jack Edwards National Airport, it is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.
This airport is assigned a three-letter location identifier of JKA by the Federal Aviation Administration, but the International Air Transport Association (IATA) airport code is GUF. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) airport code is KJKA.
History Jack Edwards Airport was originally an outlying field (Canal Field) for Naval Air Station Pensacola. In 1977, under the Surplus Property Act of 1944, the U.S. Navy sold it to the state of Alabama. The new airport was named for U.S. Rep. Jack Edwards, and a terminal was built. In 1983 the state sold the airport to the city of Gulf Shores, and additional acreage was acquired. A new terminal was built in 1998 and a runway extension was completed in 2003. In 1999, there was a total of 47,000 flights.
In 2024, ground was broken on a new passenger terminal capable of handling 100+ seat narrowbody jets. Allegiant Air began service to Jack Edwards Airport on May 21, 2025.
Facilities and aircraft Jack Edwards Airport covers an area of 838 acres (339 ha) at an elevation of 17 feet (5 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways with asphalt surfaces: 9/27 is 6,962 by 100 feet (2,122 x 30 m) and 17/35 is 3,596 by 75 feet (1,096 x 23 m).
For the 12-month period ending January 31, 2023, the airport had 61,372 aircraft operations, an average of 168 per day: 91% general aviation, 7% military, 2% air taxi, and <1% commercial. At that time there were 116 aircraft based at this airport: 86 single-engine, 12 multi-engine, 10 jet, 1 helicopter, and 7 ultralights.
Southern Airways Express previously served the airport, beginning in June 2013, but later ceased operations to a number of airports including Jack Edwards due to cost considerations.
Allegiant Air currently serves the airport with Airbus A319 and A320 jetliners.
Airline and destinations
Destinations map
Statistics Top destinations + Busiest domestic routes from JKA/GUF(July 2025 – June 2026) Rank City Passengers Carriers 1 Belleville/St. Louis, Illinois 14,970 Allegiant 2 Cincinnati, Ohio 13,620 Allegiant 3 Appleton, Wisconsin 10,250 Allegiant 4 Des Moines, Iowa 10,090 Allegiant 5 Fayetteville/Bentonville, Arkansas 7,050 Allegiant 6 Kansas City, Missouri 5,360 Allegiant 7 Nashville, Tennessee 5,340 Allegiant 8 Knoxville, Tennessee 2,600 Allegiant 9 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 2,130 Allegiant 10 Springfield/Branson, Missouri 1,700 Allegiant
See also List of airports in Alabama
References
External links
Aerial image as of February 1997 from USGS The National Map