{"id":933573,"date":"2026-07-14T05:10:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T05:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/933573\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T05:10:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T05:10:41","slug":"jacksonville-airport-prices-under-scrutiny-after-action-news-jax-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/933573\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville airport prices under scrutiny after Action News Jax investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Two months after an Action News Jax investigation<\/b><\/a> raised questions about whether some prices inside Jacksonville International Airport violate the Jacksonville Aviation Authority\u2019s own \u201cstreet plus 10 percent\u201d pricing policy, Jacksonville City Council President Nick Howland said he plans to demand answers.<\/p>\n

The policy is intended to ensure travelers do not pay more than 10 percent above what they would pay for the same item at a comparable store outside the airport.<\/p>\n

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Action News Jax found several items inside JIA that appeared to be priced well above that limit.<\/p>\n

An airport passenger told Action News Jax, \u201cI figured it was going to be high. I didn\u2019t know it was going to be that high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Howland said he\u2019s taking a closer look.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s the responsibility of the airport to make sure they\u2019re charging fair prices to passengers,\u201d Howland said.<\/p>\n

Another airport passenger told Action News Jax she paid $9 for a bagel.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much was your bagel?\u201d Action News Jax Investigator Yona Gavino asked.<\/p>\n

\u201c$9,\u201d the airport passenger responded.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes that seem high for a bagel?\u201d Gavino asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d the airport passenger said.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>Are airport prices at JAX airport too high? Investigation raises questions about pricing rule<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Howland told Action News Jax he plans to use next month\u2019s budget hearings to question the Jacksonville Aviation Authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe board is responsible for ensuring that the Jacksonville Aviation Authority invests that money appropriately and the City Council has audit and oversight authority. The only time we can really exert that authority is during the budget process in August. But we will be asking those questions for sure,\u201d Howland said.<\/p>\n

In May, Action News Jax found several products inside Jacksonville International Airport costing more than the Jacksonville Aviation Authority\u2019s own \u201cstreet plus 10 percent\u201d policy allows.<\/p>\n

A USB-C charger selling for $27.99 inside the airport was available for $9.88 at a nearby Walmart, a difference of 183%.<\/p>\n

Sensodyne toothpaste cost $5.39 inside the airport compared to $2 outside the airport, a 170% increase.<\/p>\n

A six-count package of Tylenol PM sold for $5.99 inside the airport, while a 24-count package at an off-site retailer cost almost the same, resulting in a unit price difference of 301%.<\/p>\n

Not every vendor exceeded the limit.<\/p>\n

A medium Hook and Ladder sandwich from Firehouse Subs and a Turkey Club from Angie\u2019s Subs were both priced at the maximum allowed under the policy \u2014 street price plus 10 percent.<\/p>\n

At Starbucks, a hot coffee and butter croissant cost $9.25 inside the airport.<\/p>\n

The same items cost $7.35 at a nearby Starbucks location, with the coffee alone priced 31% higher inside the airport.<\/p>\n

Another airport passenger told Action News Jax, \u201cThe prices are a little higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Action News Jax\u2019s investigation, the JAA said it notified concessionaires, reviewed pricing, and planned to strengthen its compliance process.<\/p>\n

Howland also questioned the airport authority\u2019s financial position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe JAA is making a lot of money, particularly up at Jacksonville International Airport. They currently have over $400 million in cash. To put that in perspective, that\u2019s about the size of the city of Jacksonville\u2019s reserves,\u201d Howland said.<\/p>\n

He said he wants to see more of that revenue invested in expanding Cecil Airport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best use, according to City Council and state legislature, is creating an aerospace hub at Cecil Field and growing jobs there,\u201d Howland said.<\/p>\n

The JAA now tells Action News Jax it reviewed pricing reports from two of its largest concessionaires, Avolta and WHSmith, and determined those prices were \u201csatisfactory with the airport\u2019s policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

A third operator, Paradies Lagard\u00e8re, submitted pricing reports, but the JAA said it requested revisions before determining compliance.<\/p>\n

Action News Jax asked the JAA how many of the prices documented during the investigation could still be the same while now being considered compliant.<\/p>\n

The JAA said concessionaires \u2014 not the airport \u2014 set retail prices.<\/p>\n

Action News Jax also contacted the concessionaires to ask why prices, for all but one bottle of water, appeared unchanged.<\/p>\n

Only Paradies Lagard\u00e8re responded.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Paradies Lagard\u00e8re said:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe review pricing across our retail locations using an aggregate comparison of relevant local retailers to help ensure our approach remains aligned with the airport\u2019s direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Action News Jax also obtained copies of the pricing reports the JAA used to determine compliance.<\/p>\n

Those reports show Paradies Lagard\u00e8re, which operates the Travel at Ease store where Action News Jax found the Tylenol PM, uses a Courtyard Marriott as its price comparison.<\/p>\n

The hotel sells the same pain medication for $8.99, meaning the $5.99 airport price fits the strict definition of the Jacksonville Aviation Authority\u2019s \u201cstreet plus 10 percent\u201d policy.<\/p>\n

The JAA\u2019s Board of Directors has seven members \u2014 four appointed by Florida\u2019s governor and three appointed by Jacksonville\u2019s mayor.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan\u2019s office referred Action News Jax back to the JAA.<\/p>\n

Action News Jax did not hear back from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 office.<\/p>\n

Every JAA board member who responded, including Board Chair David Hodges, declined Action News Jax\u2019s request for an interview and referred questions back to JAA management.<\/p>\n

[DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n

The pricing reports could help answer one of the biggest questions that remains:<\/p>\n

How did the Jacksonville Aviation Authority determine these prices comply with its own policy when many appear to be the same prices Action News Jax documented two months ago?<\/p>\n

The JAA tells Action News Jax all concessionaires will submit another round of pricing reports by the end of the year as new stores open in Concourse B early next year.<\/p>\n

[SIGN UP: <\/b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>] <\/b><\/p>\n

Once Action News Jax receives the reports the JAA relied on, Action News Jax will compare them with the prices documented inside the terminal and continue examining whether the airport\u2019s \u201cstreet plus 10 percent\u201d pricing policy is actually being enforced.<\/p>\n

Howland told Action News Jax that the City Council\u2019s authority is budget approval and financial oversight. He said the state legislature\u2019s is policy and the board enforces internal policies. <\/p>\n

Howland also referred Gavino to each member of the JAA board before he spoke to her for this story. Action News Jax had planned to reach out to board members regardless.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/b><\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n

Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Two months after an Action News Jax investigation raised questions about whether some prices inside…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":933574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[12189,15619,5229,376443,230056,15621,48493,376453,376450,376442,3188,723,26769,376452,184793,122684,7338,11561,376440,7310,295635,82820,214877,7342,376449,425,4818,113704,352059,376445,376446,376451,51647,5207,376441,22195,57513,376447,47486,376448,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,65813,11588,376444],"class_list":["post-933573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-action_news","tag-action_news_jack","tag-america","tag-angies_subs","tag-avolta","tag-ben","tag-city_council","tag-council_council","tag-duval_road","tag-firehouse_subs","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-gas","tag-howen","tag-howland","tag-ja","tag-jaa","tag-jack","tag-jackson_aviation_authority","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville_aviation_authority","tag-jacksonville_city_council","tag-jacksonville_international_airport","tag-jia","tag-lem_turner_road","tag-local","tag-love","tag-marriott","tag-nick_howland","tag-paradise_lagardeir","tag-paradise_lagardere","tag-parady_lagarde_air","tag-pm","tag-president","tag-sensodyne","tag-starbucks","tag-tanika","tag-travel_at_ease","tag-tylenol","tag-tylenol_pm","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-walgreens","tag-walmart","tag-wh_smith"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=933573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/933574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=933573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=933573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=933573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}