John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
serving
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the
New York airport system, the
13th-busiest airport in the United States, and the
busiest international air passenger gateway into North America.
Over 90 airlines operate from the airport, with nonstop or direct flights to destinations in all six inhabited continents.
JFK is located in the
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
neighborhood of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, southeast of
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
. The airport features six passenger terminals and four runways. It is primarily accessible via car, bus, shuttle, or other vehicle transit via the
JFK Expressway
The JFK Expressway is a short freeway connecting the Belt Parkway with John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City. It interchanges with the Nassau Expressway ( New York State Route 878 or NY 878) near the former p ...
or
Interstate 678
Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for through two boroughs of New York City. The route begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jamaica Bay and travels north through Queens and ...
(
Van Wyck Expressway
Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for through two boroughs of New York City. The route begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jamaica Bay and travels north through Queens and ...
), or via train. JFK is a hub for both
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
and
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
, as well as the primary operating base for
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
.
JFK is also a former hub for
Braniff
Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...
,
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
,
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
,
Northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
,
Pan Am
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
,
Tower Air
Tower Air was a certificated FAR 121 U.S. charter airline that also operated scheduled passenger service from 1983 until 2000 when the company declared bankruptcy and was liquidated. Scheduled flights were initially offered over a New York – Br ...
, and
TWA
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...
.
The facility opened in 1948 as New York International Airport
and was commonly known as Idlewild Airport.
Following the
assassination of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...
in 1963, the airport was renamed "John F. Kennedy International Airport" as a tribute to the 35th President of the United States.
History
Construction
John F. Kennedy International Airport was originally called Idlewild Airport after the Idlewild Beach Golf Course that it displaced. It was built to relieve
LaGuardia Field, which had become overcrowded after its 1939 opening.
In late 1941, mayor
Fiorello La Guardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...
announced that the city had tentatively chosen a large area of marshland on
Jamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lower New York Bay to the west, ...
, which included the Idlewild Golf Course as well as a summer hotel and a
landing strip
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, o ...
called the Jamaica Sea-Airport, for a new airfield.
Title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
to the land was conveyed to the city at the end of December 1941. Construction began in 1943,
though the airport's final layout was not yet decided upon.
About US$60 million was initially spent with governmental funding, but only of the Idlewild Golf Course site were earmarked for use.
[ ] The project was renamed Major General Alexander E. Anderson Airport in 1943 after a Queens resident who had commanded a Federalized National Guard unit in the
southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
and died in late 1942. The renaming was vetoed by Mayor La Guardia and reinstated by the
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...
; in common usage, the airport was still called "Idlewild". In 1944, the
New York City Board of Estimate
The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the amendments effec ...
authorized the condemnation of another for Idlewild. The Port of New York Authority (now the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
) leased the Idlewild property from the City of New York in 1947
and maintains this lease today.
In March 1948, the City Council changed the official name to New York International Airport, Anderson Field, but the common name remained "Idlewild" until December 24, 1963.
The airport was intended as the world's largest and most efficient, with "no confusion and no congestion".
Early operations
The first flight from Idlewild was on July 1, 1948, with the opening ceremony attended by then-U.S. President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
.
The Port Authority canceled foreign airlines' permits to use LaGuardia, forcing them to move to Idlewild during the next couple of years. Idlewild at the time had a single terminal building;
by 1949, the terminal building was being expanded to . Further expansions would come in following years, including a control tower in 1952, as well as new and expanded buildings and
taxiway
A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...
s.
Idlewild opened with six runways and a seventh under construction; runways 1L and 7L were held in reserve and never came into use as runways. Runway 31R (originally ) is still in use; runway 31L (originally ) opened soon after the rest of the airport and is still in use; runway 1R closed in 1957 and runway 7R closed around 1966. Runway 4 (originally 8,000 ft, now runway 4L) opened June 1949 and runway 4R was added ten years later. A smaller runway 14/32 was built after runway 7R closed and was used until 1990 by
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
,
STOL
A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
, and smaller commuter flights.
The
Avro Jetliner
The Avro Canada C102 Jetliner was a Canadian prototype medium-range turbojet-powered jet airliner built by Avro Canada in 1949. It was beaten to the air by only 13 days by the de Havilland Comet, thereby becoming the second jet airliner in t ...
was the first jet airliner to land at Idlewild on April 16, 1950. A
Sud Aviation Caravelle
The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation.
It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955.
It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for t ...
prototype was the next jet airliner to land at Idlewild, on May 2, 1957. Later in 1957, the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
sought approval for two jet-powered
Tupolev Tu-104 flights carrying diplomats to Idlewild; the Port Authority did not allow them, saying noise tests had to be done first. (The Caravelle had been tested at Paris.)
In 1951, the airport averaged 73 daily airline operations (takeoffs plus landings); the October 1951 ''Airline Guide'' shows nine domestic departures a day on National and Northwest. Much of Newark's traffic moved to Idlewild (which averaged 242 daily airline operations in 1952) when Newark closed in February 1952. L-1049 Constellations and DC-7s appeared between 1951 and 1953 and did not use LaGuardia for their first several years, bringing more traffic to Idlewild. The April 1957 ''Airline Guide'' cites a total of 1,283 departures a week, including about 250 from
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Ea ...
, 150 from
National Airlines and 130 from
Pan American
Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to:
* Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean
* Something of, from, or related to the Americas
* Pan-Amer ...
.
Separate terminals
By 1954, Idlewild had the highest volume of international air traffic of any airport globally.
The Port of New York Authority originally planned a single 55-gate terminal, but the major airlines did not agree with this plan, arguing that the terminal would be far too small for future traffic.
Architect
Wallace Harrison
Wallace Kirkman Harrison (September 28, 1895 – December 2, 1981) was an American architect. Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the construction of Rockefeller Center. He i ...
then designed a plan for each major airline at the airport to be given its own space to develop its own terminal.
This scheme made construction more practical, made terminals more navigable, and introduced incentives for airlines to compete with each other for the best design.
The revised plan met airline approval in 1955, with seven terminals initially planned. Five terminals were for individual airlines, one was for three airlines, and one was for international arrivals. (National Airlines and British Airways arrived later.)
In addition, there would be an 11-story control tower, roadways, parking lots, taxiways, and a reflecting lagoon in the center.
The airport was designed for aircraft up to gross weight The airport had to be modified in the late 1960s to accommodate the
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
's weight.
The International Arrivals Building, or IAB, was the first new terminal at the airport, opening in December 1957. The building was designed by
Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer John Merrill. The fir ...
(SOM).
The terminal stretched nearly 2,300 feet (700 meters) and was parallel to runway 7R. The terminal had "finger" piers at right-angles to the main building allowing more aircraft to park, an innovation at the time.
The building was expanded in 1970 to accommodate jetways. However, by the 1990s the overcrowded building was showing its age and it did not provide adequate space for security checkpoints. It was demolished in 2000 and replaced with Terminal 4.
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. and
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
opened Terminal 7 (later renumbered Terminal 9), a SOM design similar to the IAB,
in October 1959. It was demolished in 2008.
Eastern Airlines
Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Ea ...
opened their Chester L. Churchill-designed Terminal 1
in November 1959. The terminal was demolished in 1995 and replaced with the current Terminal 1.
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
opened Terminal 8 in February 1960. It was designed by
Kahn and Jacobs and had a
stained-glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
facade designed by Robert Sowers, the largest stained-glass installation in the world until 1979. The facade was removed in 2007 as the terminal was demolished to make room for the new Terminal 8; American cited the prohibitive cost of removing the enormous installation.
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
opened the
Worldport (later Terminal 3) in 1960, designed by Tippetts-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton.
It featured a large, elliptical roof suspended by 32 sets of radial posts and cables; the roof extended beyond the base of the terminal to cover the passenger loading area. It was one of the first airline terminals in the world to feature
jetway
A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...
s that connected to the terminal and that could be moved to provide an easy walkway for passengers from the terminal to a docked aircraft. Jetways replaced the need to have to board the plane outside via
airstairs which descend from an aircraft, truck-mounted mobile stairs, or wheeled stairs.
The Worldport was demolished in 2013.
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...
opened the
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal ...
in 1962, designed by
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...
with a distinctive winged-bird shape.
With the demise of TWA in 2001, the terminal remained vacant until 2005 when
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
and the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
(PANYNJ) financed the construction of a new 26-gate terminal partly encircling the Saarinen building. Called Terminal 5 (Now T5), the new terminal opened October 22, 2008. T5 is connected to the Saarinen central building through the original passenger departure-arrival tubes that connected the building to the outlying gates. The original Saarinen terminal, also known as the head house, has since been converted into the
TWA Hotel
TWA Hotel is a hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City, that opened on May 15, 2019. It utilizes the head house of the TWA Flight Center, designed in 1962 by the architect Eero Saarinen. The TWA Hotel project added ...
.
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
,
Braniff International
Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, List of defunct airlines of the United States (A–C), was an airline in the United Sta ...
, and
Northeast Airlines
Northeast Airlines was an American airline based in Boston, Massachusetts that chiefly operated in the northeastern United States, and later to Canada, Florida, the Bahamas, Los Angeles and other cities. It was acquired by and merged into Del ...
opened a joint terminal in November 1962 (now Terminal 2).
National Airlines opened the
Sundrome
The Sundrome, later TWA Domestic Terminal and Terminal 6, was one of several terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport. It was designed by I. M. Pei & Partners (now Pei Cobb Freed & Partners). Opened in 1969, it was initially used by Nati ...
(later Terminal 6) in 1969. The terminal was designed by
I.M.Pei. It was unique for its use of all-glass
mullion
A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...
s dividing the window sections, unprecedented at the time. In 2001,
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. planned to redevelop this terminal and the TWA Flight Center as a new United terminal. Terminal 6 was used by
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
from 2001 until JetBlue moved to Terminal 5 in 2008. The Sundrome was demolished in 2011.
Later operation
The airport was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 24, 1963, a month and two days after the
assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
; Mayor
Robert F. Wagner, Jr.
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
proposed the renaming. The IDL and KIDL codes have since been reassigned to
Indianola Municipal Airport
Indianola Municipal Airport is a public use airport in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The airport is owned by the City of Indianola[Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France an ...]
, operated by
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...
and
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
, made scheduled trans-Atlantic
supersonic
Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
flights to JFK from November 22, 1977, until its retirement by British Airways on October 24, 2003. Air France had retired the aircraft in May 2003.
Construction of the
AirTrain JFK
AirTrain JFK is an elevated people mover system and airport rail link serving John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in New York City. The driverless system operates 24/7 and consists of three lines and nine stations within the ...
people-mover system began in 1998, after decades of planning for a direct rail link to the airport.
Although the system was originally scheduled to open in 2002,
it opened on December 17, 2003, after delays caused by construction and a fatal crash.
The rail network links each airport terminal to the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
and the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...
at
Howard Beach
Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, to the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, to the east by 1 ...
and
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
.
The airport's new Terminal 1 opened on May 28, 1998; Terminal 4, the $1.4 billion replacement for the International Arrivals Building, opened on May 24, 2001.
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
's Terminal 5 incorporates the
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal ...
, and Terminals 8 and 9 were demolished and rebuilt as Terminal 8 for the
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
hub. The Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved a $20 million planning study for the redevelopment of Terminals 2 and 3, the
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
hub, in 2008.
On March 19, 2007, JFK was the first airport in the United States to receive a passenger
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
flight. The route, with an over-500-passenger capacity, was operated by Lufthansa and Airbus and arrived at Terminal 1. On August 1, 2008, it received the first regularly-scheduled commercial A380 flight to the United States (on
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
' New York–Dubai route) at Terminal 4. Although the service was suspended in 2009 due to poor demand, the aircraft was reintroduced in November 2010. Airlines operating A380s to JFK include
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...
(on its New York–
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
–
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
route),
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...
(on its New York–
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
route),
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
(on its New York–
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
route),
Korean Air
Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights.
The present-day Korean Air ...
(on its New York–
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
route),
Asiana Airlines
Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.[Home]
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...
(on its New York–Seoul route),
Etihad Airways on its New York–Abu Dhabi route, and Emirates (on its New York–
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
–Dubai and New York–Dubai routes). On December 8, 2015, JFK was the first U.S. airport to receive a commercial
Airbus A350
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus.
The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 wi ...
flight when
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netw ...
began using the aircraft on one of its New York–
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
routes.
On August 14, 2016, at 9:31 pm, gunfire was reported at Terminal 8; shortly afterward, gunfire was also reported at Terminal 1. An investigation indicated that no shooting had occurred, but frightened travelers ran from the terminals onto nearby highways and runways.
The terminals were temporarily shut down, and flights were rerouted.
Police, who were investigating, learned that the reported gunshots were travelers clapping for
Usain Bolt
Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.
An eight- ...
after he won the
men's 100-meter dash at the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
.
Two people were injured in the resulting stampede, and the Port Authority Police Department later reviewed its strategy for dealing with possible terror attacks.
The airport currently hosts one of the world's
longest flights
Over time, commercial airlines have established a number of scheduled ultra long-haul non-stop flights. These exceptionally long routes reduce the travel time between distant city pairs as well as the number of stops needed for passengers' trave ...
since Singapore Airlines' 2020 launch of SQ24 and SQ23 between Singapore and New York JFK. Initially Singapore Airlines operated the flight to meet higher cargo demand during the coronavirus pandemic, having suspended its ultra long haul Singapore-Newark route. Singapore Airlines now uses the Airbus A350-900ULR and keeps the Singapore-JFK route despite reinstating the Newark route (the original non-stop Singapore-New York flight) in March 2022. Therefore, Singapore Airlines operates both non-stop and one-stop flights to New York JFK, the latter being an Airbus A380 flight stopping at Frankfurt, along with non-stop flights to Newark.
Access
Rail
All lines of
AirTrain JFK
AirTrain JFK is an elevated people mover system and airport rail link serving John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in New York City. The driverless system operates 24/7 and consists of three lines and nine stations within the ...
, the airport's dedicated rail network, stop at each passenger terminal. The system also serves
Federal Circle, the JFK long-term parking lot, and two multimodal
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
stations:
Howard Beach
Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, to the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, to the east by 1 ...
and
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
. While AirTrain travel within airport property is complementary, external transfers at the latter two locations are paid via
MetroCard
The MetroCard is a magnetic stripe card used for fare payment on transportation in the New York City area. It is the primary payment method for the New York City Subway (including the Staten Island Railway), New York City Transit buses and MTA ...
and provide access to the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
,
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...
, and
MTA Bus
MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was created in 2008 to consolidate all bus operations in New York City operated by the MTA. , MTA Regional Bus Operations ru ...
services.
Bus
, only the bus serves Terminal 8. The serve JFK's cargo terminals. The Q10 and B15 serve the Lefferts Boulevard station on the AirTrain and it includes a free transfer. The B15, Q3, and Q10 buses will return to Terminal 5 in 2026 due to construction. Bus fares are paid via
MetroCard
The MetroCard is a magnetic stripe card used for fare payment on transportation in the New York City area. It is the primary payment method for the New York City Subway (including the Staten Island Railway), New York City Transit buses and MTA ...
or
OMNY
OMNY ( , short for One Metro New York) is a contactless fare payment system, currently being implemented for use on public transit in the New York metropolitan area. When OMNY is completely rolled out, it will replace the MetroCard on the Ne ...
systems, with free transfers provided to
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
services.
Car
Vehicles primarily access the airport via the
Van Wyck Expressway
Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for through two boroughs of New York City. The route begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jamaica Bay and travels north through Queens and ...
(I-678) or
JFK Expressway
The JFK Expressway is a short freeway connecting the Belt Parkway with John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City. It interchanges with the Nassau Expressway ( New York State Route 878 or NY 878) near the former p ...
, both of which are connected to the
Belt Parkway
The Belt Parkway is the name given to a series of connected limited-access highways that form a belt-like circle around the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The Belt Parkway comprises three of the four parkways in what is known as t ...
and various surface streets in
South Ozone Park
South Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is just north of John F. Kennedy International Airport, between Aqueduct Racetrack to the west and the Van Wyck Expressway to the east.
Adja ...
and
Springfield Gardens
Springfield Gardens is a neighborhood in the southeastern area of the New York City borough of Queens, bounded to the north by St. Albans, to the east by Laurelton and Rosedale, to the south by John F. Kennedy International Airport, and to the w ...
. The airport operates parking facilities consisting of multi-level terminal garages, surface spaces in the Central Terminal Area, and a long-term parking lot with total accommodation for more than 17,000 vehicles.
A
travel plaza
A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names include motorway serv ...
on airport property also contains a food court,
filling station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoli ...
, and originally four
Tesla Superchargers. The original 4 Tesla Superchargers were later replaced with a new station with 12 stalls.
Taxis and other
for-hire vehicles (FHV) serving JFK are licensed by the
New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission. In 2019, PANYNJ approved the implementation of "airport access fee" surcharges on FHV and taxi trips, with the revenue earmarked to support the agency's capital programs.
Facilities
Terminals
JFK has six terminals, containing 131 gates in total. The terminals are numbered 1–8 but skipping terminals 3 (demolished in 2013) and 6 (demolished in 2011).
The terminal buildings, except for the former
Tower Air
Tower Air was a certificated FAR 121 U.S. charter airline that also operated scheduled passenger service from 1983 until 2000 when the company declared bankruptcy and was liquidated. Scheduled flights were initially offered over a New York – Br ...
terminal, are arranged in a deformed U-shaped wavy pattern around a central area containing parking, a power plant, and other airport facilities. The terminals are connected by the
AirTrain system and access roads. Directional signage throughout the terminals was designed by
Paul Mijksenaar. A 2006 survey by
J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power is an American consumer research, data, and analytics firm based in Troy, Michigan. The company was founded in 1968 by James David Power III. It conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for the au ...
in conjunction with ''
Aviation Week
''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviatio ...
'' found that JFK ranked second in overall traveler satisfaction among large airports in the United States, behind
Harry Reid International Airport
Harry Reid International Airport is an international airport in Paradise, Nevada, and is the main government airport for public use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada, about south of Downtown Las Vegas. ...
, which serves the
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ...
.
Until the early 1990s, each terminal was known by the primary airline that served it, except for Terminal 4, which was known as the International Arrivals Building. In the early 1990s, all terminals were given numbers except for the Tower Air terminal, which sat outside the Central Terminals area and was not numbered. Like the other airports controlled by the Port Authority, JFK's terminals are sometimes managed and maintained by independent terminal operators. At JFK, all terminals are managed by airlines or consortiums of the airlines serving them, except for the
Schiphol Group
Royal Schiphol Group is a Dutch airport management company.
It was established during 1916 in conjunction with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, having been responsible for operating and developing throughout its operational life. During October 2008 ...
-operated Terminal 4. All terminals except Terminal 2 can handle international arrivals that are not pre-cleared.
Most inter-terminal connections require passengers to exit security, then walk, use a shuttle bus, or use the AirTrain JFK to get to the other terminal, then re-clear security.
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 opened in 1998, 50 years after the opening of JFK, at the direction of the Terminal One Group, a consortium of four key operating carriers:
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...
,
Japan Airlines
, also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
,
Korean Air
Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights.
The present-day Korean Air ...
, and
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
. This partnership was founded after the four airlines reached an agreement that the then-existing international carrier facilities were inadequate for their needs. The
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Ea ...
terminal was located on the site of present-day Terminal 1.
Terminal 1 is served by
SkyTeam
SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...
carriers
Aeroflot
PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
,
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...
,
China Eastern Airlines
China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (), also known as China Eastern, is an airline headquartered in the China Eastern Airlines Building, on the grounds of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Changning District, Shanghai. It is ...
,
ITA Airways
Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., trading as ITA Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy. It is fully owned by the Government of Italy via the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The airline flies to over 60 scheduled domestic, E ...
,
Korean Air
Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights.
The present-day Korean Air ...
, and
Saudia
Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Internati ...
;
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenger ...
carriers
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacific ...
,
Asiana Airlines
Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.[Home]
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...
,
Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its ...
,
Brussels Airlines
Brussels Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Belgium, based and headquartered at Brussels Airport. It operates to over 100 destinations in Europe, North America and Africa and also offers charter services, maintenance and crew ...
,
Egyptair
Egyptair (Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-A ...
,
EVA Air
EVA Airways Corporation (pronounced as three letters: ; ) (), of which "EVA" stands for Evergreen Airways, is a Taiwanese international airline based at Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, operating passenger and dedicated carg ...
,
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
,
Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Geneva ...
,
TAP Air Portugal
TAP Air Portugal is the currently state-owned flag carrier airline of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its hub. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and oper ...
, and
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...
; and
Oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
carriers
Japan Airlines
, also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
and
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air Maroc (; ar, الخطوط الملكية المغربية, , literally ''Royal Moroccan Lines'' or ''Royal Moroccan Airlines''; ber, ⴰⵎⵓⵏⵉ ⴰⵢⵍⴰⵍ ⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏ ⵏ ⴰⵎⵓⵔⴰⴽⵓⵛ, ''Amuni Aylal Age ...
. Other airlines serving Terminal 1 include
Air Senegal
Air Senegal , is the flag carrier of the Republic of Senegal. Created in 2016, it is state owned through investment arm Caisse des Dépots et Consignation du Sénégal. It is based at Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, Senegal.
Hi ...
,
Air Serbia
Air Serbia (stylised as ''AirSERBIA''; sr, / ) is the flag carrier of Serbia. The company's headquarters is located in Belgrade, Serbia, and its main hub is Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. The airline was known as Jat Airways until it was r ...
,
Azores Airlines
Azores Airlines, previously known as SATA Internacional, is a Portuguese airline based in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel in the autonomous archipelago of the Azores. A subsidiary of SATA Air Açores, the airline ...
,
Cayman Airways
Cayman Airways is the flag carrier airline of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. With its head office in Grand Cayman, it operates mainly as an international and domestic scheduled passenger carrier, with cargo services avai ...
,
Flair Airlines
Flair Airlines is a Canadian ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC) headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. The airline operates scheduled passenger and chartered services with a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. The company slogan is ''Plane and Simple.'' The a ...
,
Neos,
Norse Atlantic Airways
Norse Atlantic Airways AS () is a Norwegian low-cost, long-haul airline headquartered in Arendal, Norway. Founded in February 2021, the airline operates a fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft between Europe and North America. Its inaugural flight too ...
,
Philippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines (PAL), a trade name of PAL Holdings, Inc. ( PSEPAL (Philippine Air Lines until 1970), is the flag carrier airline of the Philippines. Headquartered at the PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and i ...
,
VivaAerobús
Aeroenlaces Nacionales, S.A. de C.V., trading as Viva Aerobus, is a Mexican low-cost airline fully owned by the largest bus company group in Mexico, IAMSA, and was co-founded by and invested in by Irelandia Aviation. Based in Monterrey Internati ...
, and
Volaris
Volaris, legally ''Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación S.A.P.I. de C.V.'', is a Mexican low-cost airline based in Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City l-888-Ʒ9Ʒ-I394 with its hubs in Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Tijuana, and focu ...
.
Terminal 1 was designed by William Nicholas Bodouva + Associates.
It and
Terminal 4 are the two terminals at JFK Airport with the capability of handling the
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
aircraft, which Lufthansa flies on the route from
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
, and by Korean Air on the way from
Seoul–Incheon. Air France operated
Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
here until 2003. Terminal 1 has 11 gates.
Terminal 2
Terminal 2 opened in 1962 as the home of
Northeast Airlines
Northeast Airlines was an American airline based in Boston, Massachusetts that chiefly operated in the northeastern United States, and later to Canada, Florida, the Bahamas, Los Angeles and other cities. It was acquired by and merged into Del ...
,
Braniff International Airways
Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...
, and
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
, and is currently occupied by
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
. The facility contains 11 jetbridge-equipped gates (C60–C70) and one mezzanine-level airline club, and it formerly housed several
hardstand
A hardstand (also hard standing and hardstanding in British English) is a paved or hard-surfaced area on which vehicles, such as cars or aircraft, may be parked. The term may also be used informally to refer to an area of compacted hard surface suc ...
s for smaller regional airliners. As the only terminal without a
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
processing facility, T2 is unable to accept any international flights arriving unless subject to
US Customs preclearance. It was designed by the architectural firm White & Mariani.
After the demise of Northeast Airlines and Braniff, the terminal was taken over by
Pan Am
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
and subsequently Delta. Upon the completion of Terminal 4, T2's gates were prefaced with the letter 'C', and airside shuttle buses provided passenger connectivity between the terminals. Before 2013, Terminal 2 hosted most of Delta's operations in conjunction with Terminal 3. Still, the 2013–2015 expansion of Terminal 4 allowed the airline to consolidate most of its operations in the new larger facility, including international and transcontinental flights. In mid-2020, following drastic schedule reductions in the wake of the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic, Delta suspended all operations from Terminal 2. In April 2021, the Port Authority finalized plans to expand Terminals 1 and 4 and demolish Terminal 2 at an unspecified date.
Terminal 2 is expected to be vacant by 2022, and the renovated Terminal 1 will occupy its former footprint. As of July 2021, the facility has been re-opened to Delta flights.
Delta moved from Terminal 9 to Terminal 2 in 1972 when it fully acquired Northeast Airlines. Braniff used Terminal 2 from its opening in 1962 until it vacated the terminal in 1973 and became a tenant at Terminal 9.
Terminal 4
Terminal 4 replaced the International Arrivals Building and the
Pan Am Worldport.
Terminal 4, developed by LCOR, Inc., is managed b
Delta Terminal Jfk(IAT) LLC, a subsidiary of the
Schiphol Group
Royal Schiphol Group is a Dutch airport management company.
It was established during 1916 in conjunction with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, having been responsible for operating and developing throughout its operational life. During October 2008 ...
and was the first in the United States to be managed by a foreign airport operator. Terminal 4 currently contains 38 gates in two concourses and functions as the hub for
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
at JFK. Concourse A (A2–A7) serves primarily Asian and some European airlines, while Concourse B primarily serves both domestic & international flights of Delta and its
SkyTeam
SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...
partners.
Airlines servicing Terminal 4 include
SkyTeam
SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...
carriers
Aeromexico,
Air Europa
Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport ...
,
China Airlines
China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (inclu ...
,
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
,
Kenya Airways
Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its hub a ...
, and
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
;
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenger ...
carriers
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...
,
Avianca
Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under ...
,
Copa Airlines
Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., (commonly referred to as Copa and branded simply as "Copa Airlines") is the flag carrier of Panama. It is headquartered in Panama City, Panama, with its main hub at Tocumen International Airport. Copa is ...
, and
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...
; and non-alliance carriers
Caribbean Airlines
Caribbean Airlines Limited is the state-owned airline and flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago. The airline is also the flag carrier of Jamaica and Guyana. Headquartered in Iere House in Piarco, the airline operates flights to the Caribbean, No ...
,
El Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...
,
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
,
Etihad Airways,
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines ( haw, Hui Mokulele o Hawaiʻi ) is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the tenth-largest commercial airline in the United States, and is based at Honolulu, Hawaii. The airl ...
,
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
(late night international arrivals only),
LATAM Brasil
LATAM Airlines Brasil, formerly TAM Linhas Aéreas, is the Brazilian brand of LATAM Airlines Group and one of the largest airlines in the country. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), between January and December 201 ...
,
LATAM Chile
LATAM Airlines Chile (formerly LAN Airlines and LAN-Chile) is an airline based in Santiago, Chile, one of the founders of LATAM Airlines Group, Latin America's largest airline holding company. The main hub is Arturo Merino Benítez International ...
,
Uzbekistan Airways
JSC Uzbekistan Airways, operating as ''Uzbekistan Airways'' ( uz, Oʻzbekiston Havo Yoʻllari, ; russian: Узбекские Авиалинии), is the flag carrier airline of Uzbekistan, headquartered in Tashkent. From its hub at Islam Kari ...
,
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...
, and
WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, near Calgary International Airport. It is the second-largest Canadian airline, behind Air Canada, operating an average of 777 flights and carrying more than 66,130 ...
.
Like Terminal 1, the facility is
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
-compatible with service currently provided by
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
(to
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
; both non-stop and one-stop flights via
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
) and
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...
(to Singapore via Frankfurt). As of 2019, only one gate (A6) at Terminal 4 has three jetways, which is generally the most efficient system to board and offload an A380.
Opened in early 2001 and designed by
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...
, the facility was built for $1.4 billion and replaced JFK's old International Arrivals Building (IAB), which opened in 1957 and was designed by the same architectural firm. The new construction incorporated a mezzanine-level
AirTrain station, an expansive check-in hall, and a four-block-long retail area.
Terminal 4 has seen multiple expansions over the years. On May 24, 2013, the completion of a $1.4 billion project added mechanized checked-bag screening, a centralized security checkpoint (consolidating two checkpoints into one new fourth-floor location), nine international gates, improved
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
facilities, and the largest Sky Club lounge in Delta's network.
Later that year, the expansion also improved passenger connectivity with Terminal 2 by bolstering inter-terminal ''JFK Jitney'' shuttle bus service and building a dedicated 8,000 square-foot bus holdroom facility adjacent to gate B20. Also in 2013, Delta and the Port Authority agreed
to a further $175 million Phase II expansion which called for 11 new regional jet gates to supersede capacity provided by the soon-to-be-demolished Terminal 2
hardstand
A hardstand (also hard standing and hardstanding in British English) is a paved or hard-surfaced area on which vehicles, such as cars or aircraft, may be parked. The term may also be used informally to refer to an area of compacted hard surface suc ...
s and Terminal 3. Delta sought funding from the New York City Industrial Development Agency,
and work on Phase II was completed in January 2015.
By 2017, plans to expand Terminal 4's passenger capacity were being floated in conjunction with a more significant
JFK modernization proposal. In early 2020, Governor Cuomo announced that the Port Authority and Delta/IAT had agreed to terms extending Concourse A by 16 domestic gates, renovating the arrival/departure halls, and improving land-side roadways for $3.8 billion. By April 2021, that plan had been scaled-back to $1.5 billion worth of improvements as a result of financial hardships imposed by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The revised plan currently calls for arrival/departure hall modernization and just ten new gates in Concourse A. Consolidation of Delta's operations within T4 is expected by 2022, with full project completion in 2023.
In 2019,
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
began construction of a Centurion lounge which subsequently opened in October 2020. The structural addition extends the
headhouse
A head house or headhouse may be an enclosed building attached to an open-sided shed, or the aboveground part of a subway station.
Markets
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, head houses were often civic buildings such as town halls or courth ...
between the control tower and gate A2, and includes 15,000 square-feet of dining, bars, and fitness facilities.
Terminal 5
Terminal 5 replaced the
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal ...
and the
Sundrome
The Sundrome, later TWA Domestic Terminal and Terminal 6, was one of several terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport. It was designed by I. M. Pei & Partners (now Pei Cobb Freed & Partners). Opened in 1969, it was initially used by Nati ...
.
Terminal 5 opened in 2008 for
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
, the manager and primary tenant of the building, as the base of its large JFK operating base. The terminal is also used by
Cape Air
Hyannis Air Service Inc., operating as Cape Air, is an airline headquartered at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in the Northeast, the Caribbean, Midwest, and Eas ...
and Irish flag carrier
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...
, whose flights arriving at JFK from
Shannon and
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
have already been
pre-cleared in Ireland. Aer Lingus used Terminal 4 before introducing pre-clearance in Ireland, moving to Terminal 5 on April 3, 2013. On November 12, 2014, JetBlue opened the International Arrivals Concourse (T5i) at the terminal.
The terminal was redesigned by
Gensler
Gensler is a global design and architecture firm founded in San Francisco, California, in 1965.
In 2021, Gensler generated $1.235 billion in revenue, the most of any architecture firm in the U.S. As of 2021, Gensler operated offices in 49 citi ...
and constructed by
Turner Construction
Turner Construction is an American construction company with presence in 20 countries. It is a subsidiary of the German company Hochtief. It is the largest domestic contractor in the United States as of 2020, with a revenue of $14.41 billion in ...
, and sits behind the preserved
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...
-designed terminal originally known as the
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal ...
, which is now connected to the new structure and is considered part of Terminal 5. The TWA Flight Center reopened as the
TWA Hotel
TWA Hotel is a hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City, that opened on May 15, 2019. It utilizes the head house of the TWA Flight Center, designed in 1962 by the architect Eero Saarinen. The TWA Hotel project added ...
in May 2019. The active Terminal 5 building has 29 gates: 1 through 12 and 14 through 30, with gates 25 through 30 handling international flights that are not pre-cleared (gates 28–30 opened in November 2014).
The terminal has a TSA pre- checkpoint for expedited security checks and is open from 3 am to 11 pm.
Airspace Lounge opened an airport lounge near Gate 24 in July 2013, and Aer Lingus opened an airport lounge in 2015. The terminal opened a rooftop lounge open to all passengers in 2015, T5 Rooftop & Wooftop Lounge, located near Gate 28. In August 2016,
Fraport USA was selected by JetBlue as the concessions developer to help attract and manage concessions tenants that align with JetBlue's vision for Terminal 5. During the summer of 2016, JetBlue renovated Terminal 5, completely overhauling the check-in lobby. in 2018, the terminal's Airspace Lounge closed.
Terminal 7
Terminal 7 was designed by
GMW Architects and built for
BOAC
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...
and
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
in 1970. Formerly, the terminal was operated by
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
, and was also the only airport terminal operated on US soil by a foreign carrier. However, Terminal 1 is operated by a consortium of foreign carriers serving the building.
Airlines operating out of Terminal 7 include
Oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
carrier
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the numb ...
,
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenger ...
carriers
All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...
and LOT Polish Airlines;
SkyTeam
SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...
carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas; and non-alliance carriers Icelandair, Kuwait Airways, and Ukraine International Airlines.
Between 1989 and 1991, the terminal was renovated and expanded for $120 million. The expansion was designed by William Nicholas Bodouva + Associates, Architects.
In 1997, the Port Authority approved British Airways' plans to renovate and expand the terminal. The $250 million project
was designed by Corgan Associates and was completed in 2003. The renovated terminal has 12 gates.
In 2015, British Airways extended its lease on the terminal through 2022, with an option of a further three years. BA also planned to spend $65 million to renovate the terminal.
Despite being operated by British Airways, a major A380 operator, Terminal 7 is not currently able to handle the aircraft type. As a result, British Airways could not operate A380s on the lucrative Heathrow Airport, London-Heathrow to New York flights, even though in 2014, there was an advertising campaign that British Airways was going to do so.
However, British Airways planned to join its Oneworld partners in Terminal 8,
and did not exercise its lease options on Terminal 7. The terminal is now operated by JFK Millennium Partners, a consortium including JetBlue, RXR Realty, and Vantage Airport Group, who will eventually demolish the current terminal. At the same time, a new Terminal 6 will begin to be built to serve as a direct replacement.
In late 2020
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. announced they would return to JFK in February 2021 after a 5-year hiatus. As of March 28, 2021, United operated transcontinental nonstop service from Terminal 7 to its west coast hubs in SFO, San Francisco and LAX, Los Angeles. However, on October 29, 2022, United suspended service to JFK once again.
Terminal 8
Terminal 8 replaced the old Terminal 8 and Terminal 9.
Terminal 8 is a major
Oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
hub with American Airlines, American operating its hub here. In 1999,
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
began an eight-year program to build the largest passenger terminal at JFK, designed by AECOM, DMJM Aviation to replace both Terminal 8 and Terminal 9. The new terminal was built in four phases, which involved the construction of a new midfield concourse and the demolition of old Terminals 8 and 9. It was built in stages between 2005 and its official opening in August 2007.
American Airlines, the third-largest carrier at JFK, manages Terminal 8 and is the largest carrier at the terminal. Other Oneworld airlines that operate out of Terminal 8 include
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia (airline), Iberia,
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netw ...
, and Royal Jordanian,
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenger ...
carrier Ethiopian Airlines, and non-alliance carrier China Southern Airlines.
British Airways began operating some flights out of Terminal 8 on November 17, 2022, while all flights moved from Terminal 7 on December 1, 2022.
Iberia also moved to Terminal 8 on December 1, and
Japan Airlines
, also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
plans to move to the terminal in May 2023.
On January 7, 2020, construction began expanding and improving Terminal 8. The construction was completed in 2022. This construction is the first phase in an overall plan to renovate JFK airport.
The terminal is twice the size of Madison Square Garden. It offers dozens of retail and food outlets, 84 ticket counters, 44 self-service kiosks, ten security checkpoint lanes, and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility that can process more than 1,600 people an hour. Terminal 8 has an annual capacity of 12.8M passengers. It has one
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
Admirals Club and three lounges for premium class passengers as well as frequent flyers (Greenwich, Soho, and Chelsea lounges).
Terminal 8 has 31 gates: 14 gates in Concourse B (1–8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20) and 17 gates in Concourse C (31–47). Passenger access to and from Concourse C is by a tunnel that includes moving walkways.
Former terminals
JFK Airport was originally built with ten terminals, compared to the six it has today. Ten terminals remained until the late 1990s, then nine remained until the early 2000s, followed by eight until 2011 and seven until 2013.
Terminal 1 (1959–1995)
The original Terminal 1 opened in November 1959, for
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Ea ...
. It was designed by Chester L. Churchill. Eastern was the primary tenant of this terminal until its collapse on January 19, 1991. Shortly after Eastern's collapse, the terminal became vacant until it was finally demolished in 1995. It was located on the site of today’s Terminal 1, which opened in 1998.
Terminal 3
Terminal 3 opened as the Worldport on May 24, 1960, for
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
; it expanded after the introduction of the
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
in 1971. After Pan Am's demise in 1991,
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
took over ownership of the terminal and was its only occupant until its closure on May 23, 2013. It had a connector to Terminal 2, Delta's other terminal, used mainly for domestic flights. Terminal 3 had 16 Jetway-equipped gates: 1–10, 12, 14–18 with two hardstand gates (Gate 11) and a helipad on Taxiway KK.
A $1.2 billion project was completed in 2013, under which Terminal 4 was expanded, and Delta subsequently moved its T3 operations to T4.
On May 23, 2013, the final departure from the terminal,
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
Flight 268, a Boeing 747-400 to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, departed from Gate 6 at 23:25 local time. The terminal ceased operations on May 24, 2013, fifty-three years from when it opened on May 24, 1960. Demolition began soon after that and was completed by Summer 2014. The site where Terminal 3 used to stand is now used for aircraft parking by Delta Air Lines.
There has been a major media outcry, particularly in other countries, over the demolition of the Worldport. Several online petitions requesting the restoration of the original 'flying saucer' gained popularity.
International Arrivals Building (Original Terminal 4)
The International Arrivals Building (IAB) was opened in 1957 and was replaced with the new Terminal 4 in 2001. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
TWA Flight Center (Original Terminal 5)
The TWA Flight Center was opened in 1962 and closed in 2001 after its primary tenant,
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...
, went out of business; the terminal had seen increased capacity issues in the years prior. It was designed by renowned architect
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...
, with extensions designed by Roche-Dinkeloo opening in 1970.
The TWA Flight Center was not demolished after closure, as it was declared as a New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, New York City Landmark in 1994. Instead, it sat abandoned until it was incorporated into the current
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
Terminal 5. It was then converted into the Jet Age-themed
TWA Hotel
TWA Hotel is a hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City, that opened on May 15, 2019. It utilizes the head house of the TWA Flight Center, designed in 1962 by the architect Eero Saarinen. The TWA Hotel project added ...
, which opened in 2019.
Terminal 6 (1969–2011)
Terminal 6 opened as the Sundrome on November 30, 1969, for
National Airlines. National was the tenant of this terminal until it was fully acquired by
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
on January 7, 1980. Terminal 6 had 14 gates. It was designed by architect I.M. Pei.
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...
then expanded into the terminal, referring to it as the TWA Terminal Annex, later called TWA Domestic Terminal. It was eventually connected to the
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal ...
. Later, after TWA reduced flights at JFK, Terminal 6 was used by
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. , ATA Airlines, a reincarnated Pan American Airways (1996–1998), Pan Am II, Carnival Air Lines, Vanguard Airlines, and America West Airlines.
In 2000,
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...
began service from Terminal 6, later opening a temporary complex in 2006 that increased its capacity by adding seven gates. Until 2008, JetBlue was the tenant of Terminal 6. It became vacant on October 22, 2008, when JetBlue moved to Terminal 5 and was finally demolished in 2011. The international arrivals annex of Terminal 5 now uses a portion of the site, and the rest of the site is used for aircraft parking by JetBlue, but will be occupied by the new Terminal 6, an annex to Terminal 5, planned to be fully opened by 2027.
Terminal 8 (1960–2008)
The original Terminal 8 opened in 1960; its stained-glass façade was the largest at the time. It was always used by
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
, and, in later years, it was used by other
Oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
airlines that did not use Terminal 7. This terminal, along with Terminal 9, was demolished between 2007 and 2008 and replaced with a new Terminal 8.
Terminal 9
Terminal 9 opened in 1959 and was used by
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
and
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. .
Delta moved to Terminal 2 in 1972 when it fully acquired
Northeast Airlines
Northeast Airlines was an American airline based in Boston, Massachusetts that chiefly operated in the northeastern United States, and later to Canada, Florida, the Bahamas, Los Angeles and other cities. It was acquired by and merged into Del ...
.
Braniff International Airways
Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...
moved from Terminal 2 to Terminal 9 in 1973, and it operated in Terminal 9 until its collapse on May 12, 1982.
United used Terminal 9 from its opening in 1959 until it vacated the terminal in 1991 and became a tenant at
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
' Terminal 7. Terminal 9 then became the home of
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
' domestic operations and American Eagle (airline brand), American Eagle flights for the remainder of its life. This terminal, along with the original Terminal 8, was demolished in 2007–2008 and replaced with a new Terminal 8.
Tower Air terminal
The
Tower Air
Tower Air was a certificated FAR 121 U.S. charter airline that also operated scheduled passenger service from 1983 until 2000 when the company declared bankruptcy and was liquidated. Scheduled flights were initially offered over a New York – Br ...
terminal, unlike other terminals at JFK airport, sat outside the Central Terminals area in Building 213 in Cargo Area A. Originally used by
Pan Am
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
until the expansion of the Worldport (later Terminal 3), it was later used by Tower Air and
TWA
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...
shuttle until the airline was acquired by
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
in 2001. Building 213 has not been used since 2000. It is located next to the Delta Air Lines employees' parking lot number 7, which was once the Tower Air terminal parking lot.
Reconstruction
On January 4, 2017, the office of then-New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to renovate most of the airport's existing infrastructure for $7 to $10 billion. The Airport Master Plan Advisory Panel had reported that JFK, ranked 59th out of the world's top 100 airports by Skytrax, was expected to experience severe capacity constraints from increased use.
The airport was expected to serve about 75 million annual passengers in 2020 and 100 million by 2050, up from 60 million when the report was published.
The panel had several recommendations, including enlarging the newer terminals; relocating older terminals; reconfiguring highway ramps and increasing the number of lanes on the Interstate 678, Van Wyck Expressway; lengthening AirTrain JFK trainsets or connecting the line to the New York City transportation system, and rebuilding the Jamaica (LIRR station), Jamaica station with direct connections to the Long Island Rail Road and the New York City Subway. No start date has yet been proposed for the project;
in July 2017, Cuomo's office began accepting proposals for master plans to renovate the airport. When all the construction is finished, the airport will have 149 total gates- 145 with jetways and four hardstands.
New Terminal 1
In October 2018, Cuomo released details of a $13 billion plan to rebuild passenger facilities and approaches to JFK Airport. Two all-new international terminals would be built. One of the terminals, a $7 billion, , 23-gate structure replacing Terminals 1 and 2 (and the vacant space of Terminal 3) and connecting to Terminal 4, would be financed and built by a partnership between Munich Airport Group,
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
,
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...
,
Korean Air
Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights.
The present-day Korean Air ...
, and
Japan Airlines
, also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
. Of these 23 gates, all are international gates, 22 are widebody gates (4 can accommodate an
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
), and 1 is a narrowbody gate. This would also require reconfiguring new roads to accommodate the new terminal.
On December 13, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul gave a further update on the plans to build a new Terminal 1, which in a further developed form would cost US$9.5 billion. The new facility is inspired by the new Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport. The new terminal will have New York City-inspired art, similar to Terminal B at LGA. Once Terminal 2 is demolished and Delta's regional flights are transferred to an expanded Terminal 4, the New Terminal 1 will begin construction and will then open in phases with the first 14 gates on its east side along with the departures and arrivals hall scheduled to open in 2026 on the site of the demolished Terminal 2. The current Terminal 1 will then be demolished, and in its place, the next five gates on the west side of the terminal will open in 2028, and the final four gates will open in 2030. An additional extension of the terminal on its west side with a further four gates (with an extra A380 gate) has been proposed in the event of excess traffic. The project broke ground on September 8, 2022.
Expanded Terminal 4
On February 11, 2020, Cuomo and the Port Authority, along with Delta Air Lines, announced a $3.8 billion plan to add sixteen domestic, regional gates to the 'A' side of Terminal 4, replacing Terminal 2. The main headhouse will be expanded to accommodate additional passengers and open in 2022. The sixteen new gates will open in 2023, allowing the demolition of Terminal 2, the consolidation of flights for Delta, and the ability to build the new Terminal 1. An expanded roadway will be completed in 2025. This would bring the total gates of this terminal from 38 to 54.
New Terminal 6
The other terminal, a new Terminal 6 with ten new wide-body gates costing $3 billion, would be built by a consortium including JetBlue, RXR Realty, and Vantage Airport Group known as JFK Millennium Partners and will replace Terminal 7 and the vacant space of Terminal 6, and would connect to Terminal 5. Terminal 8 would remain a separate terminal operating American Airlines and Oneworld flights, the airline alliance AA is a member of.
JFK's redesign will include adding cars to AirTrain trainsets; widening connector ramps between the Van Wyck Expressway and Grand Central Parkway in Kew Gardens; and adding another lane in each direction to the Van Wyck, at a combined cost of $1.5 billion.
Under the plan, the first gates would open in 2023, and the project would be complete in 2025.
Expanded Terminal 8
In 2019, it was announced that
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
and Iberia (airline), Iberia would move into Terminal 8 preceding the demolition of Terminal 7 and that the terminal would be expanded and changed to accommodate more widebody aircraft that British Airways, Iberia and other
Oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
airlines regularly send to JFK. On January 7, 2020, construction began expanding and improving Terminal 8 with construction completing in 2022. Following the construction,
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
and Iberia (airline), Iberia moved into Terminal 8. This construction marks the first phase in the airport's expansion; the airport will have the same number of gates as before, plus four hardstands.
Runways and taxiways
The airport covers 5,200 acres or .
[, effective December 30, 2021.] Over of paved taxiways allow aircraft to move around the airfield. The standard width of these taxiways is , with heavy-duty shoulders and erosion control pavement on each side. The taxiways are generally of asphalt concrete composition thick. Painted markings, lighted signage, and embedded pavement lighting, including runway status lights, provide both position and directional information for taxiing aircraft. There are four runways (two pairs of parallel runways) surrounding the airport's central terminal area.
Operational facilities
Air Navigation
The Air Traffic Control Tower, designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and constructed on the ramp-side of Terminal 4, began full FAA operations in October 1994.
An Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE) radar unit sits atop the tower. At the time of its completion, the JFK tower, at , was the world's tallest control tower.
It was subsequently displaced from that position by towers at other airports in both the United States and overseas, including those at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, currently the tallest tower at any U.S. airport, at and at KLIA2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, currently the world's tallest control tower at .
A VHF omnidirectional range, VOR-DME station, identified as JFK, is located on the airport property between runways 4R/22L and 4L/22R.
Physical Plant
JFK is supplied with electricity by the Kennedy International Airport Power Plant, owned and operated by Calpine, Calpine Corporation. The Natural gas, natural gas-fired electric cogeneration facility uses two General Electric LM6000 Gas turbine, gas turbine engines to supply a total of 110 megawatts, which is purchased by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Port Authority for airport operations. Excess energy is also sold to the New York Independent System Operator. The 45,000 ft
2 (4,180 m
2) facility was authorized in 1990, designed by RMJM, and first entered commercial service in February 1995.
Heating and cooling for all of JFK's passenger terminals is provided by a co-located Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant (CHRP) in conjunction with a Thermal Distribution System (TDS) which entered service in August 1994. Waste heat from the power plant powers two heat recovery steam generators and a 25-megawatt steam turbine, which in turn run District cooling, chillers to generate 28,000 tons of refrigeration, or heat exchangers to create 225 million Btu/hour.
Aviation Ground Service
Aircraft service facilities include seven aircraft hangars, an engine overhaul building, a aircraft fuel storage facility, and a truck garage. Fixed-base operator, Fixed-base operation service for
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
flights is provided by Modern Aviation, which possesses the airport's exclusive helipad.
Other facilities
The airport hosts an extensive array of administrative, government, and air cargo support buildings. In 2002, the New York metropolitan area accounted for 18 percent of import (and over 24 percent of all) air cargo volume in the nation. At that time, JFK itself was reported to have 4.5 million ft
2 (418,064 m
2) of warehouse space with another 434,000 ft
2 (40,320 m
2) under construction.
Three chapels, including Our Lady of the Skies Chapel at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Our Lady of the Skies Chapel, provide for the religious needs of airline passengers.
In January 2017, the Ark at JFK Airport, a luxury terminal for pets, opened for $65 million. Ark was built ostensibly so that people who were transporting pets and other animals would be able to provide luxurious accommodations for these animals. At the time, it was supposed to be the only such facility in the U.S. However, in January 2018, Ark's owner sued the Port Authority for violating a clause that would have given Ark the exclusive rights to inspect all animals who arrive at JFK from other countries. In the lawsuit, the owner stated that Ark had incurred significant operational losses because many animals were instead being transported to a United States Department of Agriculture facility in Newburgh, New York, Newburgh.
Airport hotels
Several hotels are adjacent to JFK Airport, including the Courtyard by Marriott and the Crowne Plaza. The former Ramada Plaza JFK Hotel is Building 144, and it was formerly the only on-site hotel at JFK Airport.
It was previously a part of Forte Hotels and previously the Travelodge New York JFK. Due to its role in housing friends and relatives of aircraft crash victims in the 1990s and 2000s, the hotel became known as the "Heartbreak Hotel".
In 2009 the PANYNJ stated in its preliminary 2010 budget that it was closing the hotel due to "declining aviation activity and a need for substantial renovation" and that it expected to save $1 million per month. The hotel closed on December 1, 2009. Almost 200 employees lost their jobs.
[ ]
On July 27, 2015, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a press conference that the
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal ...
building would be used by the
TWA Hotel
TWA Hotel is a hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City, that opened on May 15, 2019. It utilizes the head house of the TWA Flight Center, designed in 1962 by the architect Eero Saarinen. The TWA Hotel project added ...
, a 505-room hotel with of conference, event, or meeting space. The new hotel is estimated to have cost $265 million. The hotel has a observation deck with an infinity pool. Groundbreaking for the hotel occurred on December 15, 2016, and it opened on May 15, 2019.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Notes
Air Senegal's flight from Dakar to New York continues on to Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Baltimore. However, the airline does not have Freedoms of the air, eighth freedom rights to solely transport passengers between New York and Baltimore due to US government regulations.
Cargo
When ranked by the value of shipments passing through it, JFK is the number three freight gateway in the United States (after the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of New York and New Jersey), and the number one international air freight gateway in the United States.
Almost 21% of all U.S. international air freight by value and 9.6% by tonnage moved through JFK in 2008.
The JFK air cargo complex is a Foreign trade zones of the United States, Foreign Trade Zone, which legally lies outside the customs area of the United States. JFK is a major hub for air cargo between the United States and Europe. London, Brussels and Frankfurt are JFK's three top trade routes.
The European airports are mostly a link in a global supply chain, however. The top destination markets for cargo flying out of JFK in 2003 were Tokyo, Seoul and London. Similarly, the top origin markets for imports at JFK were Seoul, Hong Kong, Taipei and London.
25 cargo airlines operate out of JFK,
among them:
Air China Cargo, ABX Air, Asiana Airlines, Asiana, Atlas Air, CAL Cargo Air Lines, Cargolux, Cathay Pacific Cargo,
China Airlines
China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (inclu ...
,
EVA Air
EVA Airways Corporation (pronounced as three letters: ; ) (), of which "EVA" stands for Evergreen Airways, is a Taiwanese international airline based at Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, operating passenger and dedicated carg ...
, Emirates SkyCargo, Nippon Cargo Airlines, FedEx Express, DHL Air UK, Kalitta Air,
Korean Air
Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights.
The present-day Korean Air ...
, Lufthansa Cargo, United Parcel Service, UPS Airlines, Southern Air and, formerly, World Airways. Top 5 carriers together transported 33.1% of all revenue freight in 2005:
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
(10.9% of the total), FedEx Express (8.8%), Lufthansa Cargo (5.2%), Korean Air Cargo (4.9%),
China Airlines
China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (inclu ...
(3.8%).
Most cargo and maintenance facilities at JFK are located north and west of the main terminal area. DHL Aviation, DHL, FedEx Express,
Japan Airlines
, also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
,
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
, Nippon Cargo Airlines and
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. have cargo facilities at JFK.
In 2000,
Korean Air
Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights.
The present-day Korean Air ...
Cargo opened a new $102 million cargo terminal at JFK with total floor area of and capability of handling 200,000 tons annually. In 2007,
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
opened a new priority parcel service facility at their Terminal 8, featuring 30-minute drop-offs and pick-ups for priority parcel shipments within the US.
Statistics
Passenger numbers
Top destinations
Airline market share
Other
Information services
In the immediate vicinity of the airport, parking and other information can be obtained by tuning to a highway advisory radio station at 1630 AM broadcasting, AM. A second station at 1700 AM provides information on traffic concerns for drivers leaving the airport.
Kennedy Airport, along with the other Port Authority airports (LaGuardia Airport, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark), uses a uniform style of signage throughout the airport properties. Yellow signs direct passengers to airline gates, ticketing and other flight services; green signs direct passengers to ground transportation services and black signs lead to restrooms, telephones and other passenger amenities. In addition, the Port Authority operates "Welcome Centers" and taxi dispatch booths in each airline terminal, where staff provide customers with information on taxis, limousines, other ground transportation and hotels.
New York City traffic reporter Bernie Wagenblast provides the voice for the airport's radio stations and the messages heard on board
AirTrain JFK
AirTrain JFK is an elevated people mover system and airport rail link serving John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in New York City. The driverless system operates 24/7 and consists of three lines and nine stations within the ...
and in its stations.
Notable staff
Stephen Abraham, colloquially known as Kennedy Steve, was an air traffic controller at JFK between 1994–2017. Abraham was known for his distinct "informal" tone and controlling-style while handling ground traffic at the airport. Many of his interactions with pilots were recorded and featured on various social media platforms, including various YouTube channels. In 2017, Abraham was awarded the Dale Wright Award by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) for distinguished professionalism and exceptional career service to NATCA and the National Airspace System, National Air Space System. In 2019, he was hired as Airside Operations and Ramp Manager at JFK's Terminal 1.
Accidents and incidents
See also
*List of memorials to John F. Kennedy
*Christopher O. Ward
References
Further reading
*Bloom, Nicholas Dagen. ''The Metropolitan Airport: JFK International and Modern New York'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015). x, 233 pp.
External links
John F. Kennedy International Airport(official site)
*
*
{{authority control
John F. Kennedy International Airport,
1948 establishments in New York City
Airports established in 1948
Airports in New York City
Airports in Queens, New York
Foreign trade zones of the United States
Jamaica, Queens
Monuments and memorials to John F. Kennedy in the United States, International Airport
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey