Cecil Airport

Cecil Airport is a public airport and commercial spaceport located in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is owned by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and services military aircraft, corporate aircraft, general aviation, and air cargo. The Florida Army National Guard's primary Army Aviation Support Facility and the U.S. Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) are also located here, the former operating CH-47 Chinook, UH-60 Blackhawk, UH-72 Lakota and C-12 Huron aircraft, and the latter operating the MH-65C Dolphin helicopter.

The airport has ARFF and structural fire protection provided by Jacksonville Fire/Rescue Station 56. Fire Station 73 (under construction) will be located on the airfield as well and will include ARFF, structural and rescue (ambulance) protection. A back-up, citywide 911 call/training center will also be located at Station 73.

In 2010, Cecil Airport became the United States' eighth licensed commercial spaceport and the first in Florida authorized to fly space vehicles that take off and land horizontally. As of 2025, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority has applied to certify the airport to allow space vehicles to land there as well.

The NZC identifier was the airport's previous FAA identifier when it was Naval Air Station Cecil Field, its former name until its closure as a naval air station in 1999. The NZC IATA code is now allocated to Maria Reiche Neuman Airport serving Nazca, Peru .

History

The airport is located on the site of the former Naval Air Station Cecil Field, which opened in 1941 and closed in 1999 following the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision. Covering a total area of , it was the largest military base in the Jacksonville area and supported all Atlantic Fleet F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter squadrons and S-3 Viking sea control squadrons.GlobalSecurity.org: NAS Cecil Field

Facilities and aircraft

Facilities

Runways Cecil Airport covers an area of and contains four runways and two helipads:

Runway 18L/36R: , surface: asphalt/concrete Runway 18R/36L: , surface: asphalt/concrete Runway 9R/27L: , surface: asphalt/concrete Runway 9L/27R: , surface: asphalt/concrete H1: , surface: concrete H2: , surface: concrete

FBOs The airport has a fixed-base operator that sells fuel. It offers services such as catering, hangars, courtesy cars, and rental cars; there are also amenities such as internet, conference rooms, vending machines, a crew lounge, and showers.

Private entities Cecil Airport houses the FSCJ (Florida State College Jacksonville) aviation course hangar and associated training aircraft. Sunrise Aviation, a flight training school and pilot supplies vendor is the flight training provider for FSCJ's aviation program. Facilities operated by major aerospace firms such as Logistic Services International (LSI), Boeing and Flightstar Aircraft Services are also located at Cecil, providing major training, maintenance and overhaul services for a variety of U.S. military aircraft.

In September 2024, ground broke on a new testing facility for hypersonic aircraft. The company running the facility aims to develop an aircraft that could travel from New York to London in 90 minutes.

Aircraft For the 12-month period ending February 5, 2018, the airport had 104,361 aircraft operations, an average of 286 per day: 52% military, 47% general aviation, <1% air carrier, and <1% air taxi. There were 84 aircraft based at this airport: 69 military, 12 single-engine, 1 multi-engine, 1 jet, and 1 helicopter.

Accidents and incidents On July 1, 2002, a Piper PA-22 Pacer crashed during a touch-and-go at the Cecil Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the failure of the solo student/owner to maintain directional control of the airplane during takeoff in a crosswind, which resulted in the airplane veering off the runway, a collision with a runway light, and a ground loop. On July 31, 2014, a Piper PA-44 Seminole experienced a nose gear collapse while landing at the Cecil airport. On June 9, 2025, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 bound from Atlanta to Orlando made an emergency landing at Cecil due to a "pressurization issue."

Cecil Airport

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