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. 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 neighborhood of Queens, 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 or Interstate 678 ( Van Wyck Expressway), or via train. JFK is a hub for both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, as well as the primary operating base for JetBlue. JFK is also a former hub for Braniff, Eastern,

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, ce ...

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, 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 ...

. The facility opened in 1948 as New York International Airport and was commonly known as Idlewild Airport. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, the airport was renamed "John F. Kennedy International Airport" as a tribute to the 35th President of the United States.

History

Airports New York City Map Julius Schorzman

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 LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

, which had become overcrowded after its 1939 opening. In late 1941, mayor Fiorello La Guardia 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 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 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 authorized the condemnation of another for Idlewild. The Port of New York Authority (now the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) 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

President_Truman_with_Governor_Dewey_at_dedication_of_the_Idlewild_Airport_(cropped)

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 taxiways. 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,

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 sought approval for two jet-powered

Tupolev Tu-104 The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) is a retired twinjet, medium-range, narrow-body turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. It was the second to enter regular service, behind the British de Havilland Comet, and was the only jetliner operat ...

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.

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 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 and Delta Air Lines opened Terminal 7 (later renumbered Terminal 9), a SOM design similar to the IAB, in October 1959. It was demolished in 2008. Eastern Airlines 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 opened Terminal 8 in February 1960. It was designed by

Kahn and Jacobs Ely Jacques Kahn (June 1, 1884September 5, 1972) was an American commercial architect who designed numerous skyscrapers in New York City in the twentieth century. In addition to buildings intended for commercial use, Kahn's designs ranged throu ...

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 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 jetways 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 An airstair is a set of steps built into an aircraft so that passengers may board and alight the aircraft. The stairs are often built into a clamshell-style door on the aircraft. Airstairs eliminate the need for passengers to use a mobile st ...

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 in 1962, designed by Eero Saarinen with a distinctive winged-bird shape. With the demise of TWA in 2001, the terminal remained vacant until 2005 when JetBlue and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (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. Northwest Airlines, Braniff International, 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 (later Terminal 6) in 1969. The terminal was designed by

I.M.Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

. It was unique for its use of all-glass mullions dividing the window sections, unprecedented at the time. In 2001, United Airlines planned to redevelop this terminal and the TWA Flight Center as a new United terminal. Terminal 6 was used by JetBlue 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 John F. Kennedy; 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 IndianolaConcorde, operated by Air France and British Airways, 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 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 ...

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. 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's Terminal 5 incorporates the TWA Flight Center, and Terminals 8 and 9 were demolished and rebuilt as Terminal 8 for the American Airlines 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 hub, in 2008. On March 19, 2007, JFK was the first airport in the United States to receive a passenger Airbus A380 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 (on its New York– Frankfurt– Singapore route), Air France (on its New York– Paris 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 route), Korean Air (on its New York– Seoul route), Asiana Airlines (on its New York–Seoul route),

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...

on its New York–Abu Dhabi route, and Emirates (on its New York– Milan–Dubai and New York–Dubai routes). On December 8, 2015, JFK was the first U.S. airport to receive a commercial Airbus A350 flight when Qatar Airways began using the aircraft on one of its New York– Doha 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 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 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, 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 stations:

and Jamaica. While AirTrain travel within airport property is complementary, external transfers at the latter two locations are paid via MetroCard and provide access to the

, 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 or OMNY systems, with free transfers provided to

services.

Car

Vehicles primarily access the airport via the Van Wyck Expressway (I-678) or JFK Expressway, 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 and Springfield Gardens. 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 on airport property also contains a food court, filling station, 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 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 Paul Mijksenaar (born 1944, Amsterdam) is a designer of visual information and founder and director of the international design Bureau Mijksenaar, based in Amsterdam and New York City. In 1965, he graduated from the Institute for Applied Arts Ed ...

. A 2006 survey by J.D. Power and Associates in conjunction with '' Aviation Week'' found that JFK ranked second in overall traveler satisfaction among large airports in the United States, behind Harry Reid International Airport, which serves the Las Vegas metropolitan area. 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-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, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, and

. This partnership was founded after the four airlines reached an agreement that the then-existing international carrier facilities were inadequate for their needs. The

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, China Eastern Airlines, ITA Airways, 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 carriers Air New Zealand, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines,

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,

, Swiss International Air Lines, TAP Air Portugal, and Turkish Airlines; and Oneworld carriers Japan Airlines 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,

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, Flair Airlines, Neos, Norse Atlantic Airways, Philippine Airlines, VivaAerobús, 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 (Mexico City), Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, D.F., Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City l-888-Ʒ9Ʒ-I394 with its hubs in M ...

. 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 aircraft, which Lufthansa flies on the route from Frankfurt Airport, and by Korean Air on the way from Seoul–Incheon. Air France operated Concorde here until 2003. Terminal 1 has 11 gates.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 opened in 1962 as the home of

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, and is currently occupied by Delta Air Lines. The facility contains 11 jetbridge-equipped gates (C60–C70) and one mezzanine-level airline club, and it formerly housed several hardstands 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 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 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 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 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

partners. Airlines servicing Terminal 4 include

carriers Aeromexico, Air Europa, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Kenya Airways, 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 carriers Air India, Avianca, Copa Airlines, and Singapore Airlines; and non-alliance carriers Caribbean Airlines, El Al,

, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue (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,

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, and WestJet. Like Terminal 1, the facility is Airbus A380-compatible with service currently provided by

(to Dubai; both non-stop and one-stop flights via Milan) and Singapore Airlines (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, 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

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 hardstands 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 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 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 and the Sundrome. Terminal 5 opened in 2008 for JetBlue, 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 and Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus, whose flights arriving at JFK from Shannon and Dublin 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 and constructed by Turner Construction, and sits behind the preserved Eero Saarinen-designed terminal originally known as the TWA Flight Center, which is now connected to the new structure and is considered part of Terminal 5. The TWA Flight Center reopened as the TWA Hotel 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 GMW Architects was an architectural practice based in the United Kingdom. In August 2015, the firm was taken over by another business, Scott Brownrigg, "as part of plans to move into the airport sector." History The practice was established in 19 ...

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 in 1970. Formerly, the terminal was operated by British Airways, 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 carrier Alaska Airlines, Star Alliance carriers All Nippon Airways and

LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of the world's oldest airlines in operation. Wit ...

;

carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas; and non-alliance carriers

Icelandair Icelandair is the flag carrier airline of Iceland, with its corporate head office on the property of Reykjavík Airport in the capital city Reykjavik. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both si ...

Kuwait Airways Kuwait Airways ( ar, الخطوط الجوية الكويتية, ) is the national carrier of Kuwait, with its head office on the grounds of Kuwait International Airport, Al Farwaniyah Governorate. It operates scheduled international services th ...

, 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

London-Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

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 Vantage Airport Group (or Vantage, formerly Vancouver Airport Services or YVRAS) is an airport management, development and investment company with 10 airports in Canada, the United States, Cyprus, The Bahamas and Jamaica. History Vantage Airport ...

, 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 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 San Francisco and 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. Aéroport JFK Décembre 2007 - Terminal 9

Terminal 8 is a major Oneworld hub with

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

operating its hub here. In 1999, American Airlines began an eight-year program to build the largest passenger terminal at JFK, designed by 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,

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...

, Finnair, Iberia, Qatar Airways, and

Royal Jordanian Royal Jordanian Airlines ( ar, ; transliterated: ''Al-Malakiyyah al-'Urduniyyah''), formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates scheduled ...

, Star Alliance 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 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 Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. 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

Admirals Club American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

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

. 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; it expanded after the introduction of the

in 1971. After Pan Am's demise in 1991, Delta Air Lines 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 Flight 268, a

Boeing 747-400 The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...

to Tel Aviv

Ben Gurion Airport Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is the ...

, 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 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 ...

TWA Flight Center (Original Terminal 5)

The TWA Flight Center was opened in 1962 and closed in 2001 after its primary tenant,

, went out of business; the terminal had seen increased capacity issues in the years prior. It was designed by renowned architect Eero Saarinen, 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 Landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

in 1994. Instead, it sat abandoned until it was incorporated into the current JetBlue Terminal 5. It was then converted into the Jet Age-themed TWA Hotel, 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 on January 7, 1980. Terminal 6 had 14 gates. It was designed by architect I.M. Pei. Manhattan Skyline seen from John 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. Later, after TWA reduced flights at JFK, Terminal 6 was used by United Airlines, ATA Airlines, a reincarnated Pan Am II,

Carnival Air Lines Carnival Air Lines Incorporated was a charter and scheduled airline division of the Carnival Corporation & plc that started in 1988 after Carnival Cruise Lines purchased Pacific Interstate Airlines. It was headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida. ...

, Vanguard Airlines, and

America West Airlines America West Airlines was a major American airline, founded in 1981, with service commencing in 1983, and having reached US$1 billion in annual revenue in 1989, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. At the time of its acquisition of US Airways, Americ ...

. In 2000, JetBlue 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, and, in later years, it was used by other Oneworld 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 and United Airlines. Delta moved to Terminal 2 in 1972 when it fully acquired

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' Terminal 7. Terminal 9 then became the home of American Airlines' domestic operations and 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 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 until the expansion of the Worldport (later Terminal 3), it was later used by Tower Air and

shuttle until the airline was acquired by American Airlines 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 Van Wyck Expressway; lengthening AirTrain JFK trainsets or connecting the line to the New York City transportation system, and rebuilding the 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,

, Air France, Korean Air, and Japan Airlines. Of these 23 gates, all are international gates, 22 are widebody gates (4 can accommodate an Airbus A380), 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

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 and 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 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 and 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 Runway Status Lights (RWSL) are a visual alerting system installed in some airport taxiways and runways for the purpose of collision-avoidance. When illuminated, red high-intensity LEDs indicate the presence of another vehicle either departing, o ...

, 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 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 Corporation. The natural gas-fired electric cogeneration facility uses two

General Electric LM6000 The General Electric LM6000 is a turboshaft aeroderivative gas turbine engine. The LM6000 is derived from the CF6-80C2 aircraft turbofan. It has additions and modifications designed to make it more suitable for marine propulsion, industrial power ...

gas turbine engines A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

to supply a total of 110 megawatts, which is purchased by the

Port Authority In Canada and the United States, a port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other t ...

for airport operations. Excess energy is also sold to the New York Independent System Operator. The 45,000 ft² (4,180 m²) 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

chillers A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid coolant via a vapor-compression, adsorption refrigeration, or absorption refrigeration cycles. This liquid can then be circulated through a heat exchanger to cool equipment, or another pro ...

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 operation A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

service for general aviation 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 Air cargo is any property carried or to be carried in an aircraft. Air cargo comprises air freight, air express and airmail. Aircraft types Different cargo can be transported by passenger, cargo or combi aircraft: * Passenger aircraft use the ...

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 ft² (418,064 m²) of warehouse space with another 434,000 ft² (40,320 m²) under construction. Three chapels, including 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.

Airport hotels

Several hotels are adjacent to JFK Airport, including the Courtyard by Marriott and the Crowne Plaza. The former

Ramada Plaza JFK Hotel The Ramada Plaza JFK Hotel was a Ramada-branded hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport, located in South Ozone Park, Queens, New York City, New York, United States. Description While in operation, The Ramada Plaza JFK was JFK Airport' ...

is Building 144, and it was formerly the only on-site hotel at JFK Airport. It was previously a part of

Forte Hotels Forte Group plc was a British hotel and restaurant company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it was acquired by Granada in 1996. Its head office was in the London Borough of Camden. ...

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 building would be used by the TWA Hotel, 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 Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

. However, the airline does not have 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 The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "America's Port", t ...

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 Zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cust ...

, 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 Air China Cargo Co., Ltd. () is a cargo airline of the People's Republic of China with its headquarters in Shunyi District in Beijing. It is an all-cargo subsidiary of Air China and operates scheduled freighter services to 20 cities in 10 coun ...

, ABX Air, Asiana, Atlas Air, CAL Cargo Air Lines, Cargolux,

Cathay Pacific Cargo Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...

, China Airlines, EVA Air, Emirates SkyCargo, Nippon Cargo Airlines, FedEx Express, DHL Air UK, Kalitta Air, Korean Air, Lufthansa Cargo, UPS Airlines, Southern Air and, formerly,

World Airways World Airways, Inc. was a United States airline headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia in Greater Atlanta. The company operated mostly non-scheduled services but did fly scheduled passenger services as well, notably with McDonnell Douglas DC ...

. Top 5 carriers together transported 33.1% of all revenue freight in 2005: American Airlines (10.9% of the total), FedEx Express (8.8%), Lufthansa Cargo (5.2%),

Korean Air Cargo 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 ...

(4.9%), China Airlines (3.8%). Most cargo and maintenance facilities at JFK are located north and west of the main terminal area.

DHL DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DHL ...

, FedEx Express, Japan Airlines,

, Nippon Cargo Airlines and United Airlines have cargo facilities at JFK. In 2000, 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 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. 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 and

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

), 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 Bernie Wagenblast (born September 1, 1956 in Elizabeth, New Jersey) is a transportation journalist and voice-over artist. He is the founder and editor of the Transportation Communications Newsletter. The newsletter originated as a discussion group ...

provides the voice for the airport's radio stations and the messages heard on board AirTrain JFK 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 The Dale Wright Award for Distinguished, Professional and Exceptional Career Service to NATCA and the National Airspace System is an award presented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) to honor an extraordinary, positive i ...

by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) for distinguished professionalism and exceptional career service to NATCA and the National Air Space System. In 2019, he was hired as Airside Operations and Ramp Manager at JFK's Terminal 1.

Accidents and incidents

References

External links

John F. Kennedy International Airport
(official site) * * {{authority control 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

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 ...

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey