John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport’s $19 billion glow-up is nearing its first main milestone: the opening of two new terminals subsequent 12 months.
The biggest of these, the brand new Terminal One, is ready to open in June 2026, Jennifer Aument, CEO of New Terminal One (the non-public firm overseeing the mission) mentioned at an occasion Monday saying China Airways as a tenant within the facility. The finally 2.6 million square-foot area will home not less than 15 airways, together with Air France, China Airways, Etihad Airways, Korean Air and Turkish Airways, when the 13-gate (plus one non permanent gate) first part opens.
“Constructing a brand new terminal the dimensions of LaGuardia Airport isn’t any small feat,” Manny Ciminiello, deputy common supervisor of JFK Airport on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, mentioned on the Monday occasion. The brand new Terminal One alone is similar measurement as the brand new terminals B and C at LaGuardia mixed.
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Throughout the ocean of development at JFK, the 1.2 million square-foot new Terminal 6 is predicted to open in early 2026. Air Canada, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Cathay Pacific, Frontier Airways, JetBlue and Lufthansa are among the many anchor airways within the new 10-gate terminal.
All informed, Aument expects round 50 airways to vary terminal areas at JFK in 2026 — or greater than two-thirds of these on the airport.
The 2 terminal initiatives collectively, plus updates to JetBlue’s Terminal 5 and American Airways’ Terminal 8, make up the greater than $19 billion in enhancements underway at JFK that, when all mentioned and achieved, aspire to show what as soon as was amongst America’s worst airports into one among its greatest.
And that could be a large deal for worldwide vacationers: JFK is by far the most important worldwide air gateway to the U.S. It noticed 17.5 million worldwide vacationers arrive at its gates in 2024, or almost 50% greater than the following largest gateway, Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX), U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics information exhibits.
Following the China Airways announcement, Aument led one of many final hardhat excursions of the brand new Terminal One earlier than it opens in a 12 months’s time.
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Try JFK’s new Terminal One
The very first thing any customer notices is the sheer scale of the brand new terminal. It envelops the JFK AirTrain that runs by means of its core, with the ticketing corridor hovering above the plane ramp and planes past.
The terminal itself is a big, light-filled field with a roof that slopes all the way down to a central axis. The design by Gensler was impressed by a butterfly, however can be paying homage to a bowtie, mentioned Aument.
The constructing is weathertight, with work on outfitting the inside — the outlets and eating places, lounges, and different areas — set to start quickly.
Terminal One will function 300,000 sq. ft of “eating, retail, lounges and leisure area” when full, based on specs from New Terminal One. Six lounges are deliberate, together with 5 “airside,” or post-security, and one landside for arriving vacationers.
Air France-KLM, Korean Air and Turkish Airways will function three of the 5 airside lounges.
Aument declined to call any of the deliberate concessionaires, saying they might be unveiled quickly. She did, nevertheless, point out that they might spotlight each beloved New York manufacturers and worldwide delicacies.
The centerpiece of the brand new Terminal One is the third-floor ticketing foyer or, as Aument put it, a “very grand area.” At 100,000 sq. ft it’s huge and, due to the sloping ceiling supported by huge structural “bushes,” is designed to intuitively information vacationers by means of the area, to safety, and on to the gate areas and world past.
The checkpoint will function 14 screening lanes behind the ticketing corridor when full.
Lacking from the very a lot below development area is any art work. A signature “Instagrammable” piece seen all through the terminal will probably be put in on the finish of the central axis after safety, mentioned Aument. Extra artwork is deliberate all through the area, together with a “celestial” piece within the Customs and Border Safety (CBP) corridor.
Following safety, vacationers will descend to the departures stage the place they will buy groceries, try a lounge or proceed to their gate.
One of the notable — and distinctive — options of the brand new Terminal One is the CBP ready space. Like at many international gateways, arriving worldwide vacationers will deplane and proceed to frame management on the higher stage of the concourse. However in contrast to many different airports, they won’t then drop all the way down to the basement for CBP; as a substitute, arriving vacationers enter a third-floor customs corridor crammed with mild from the skylights above. Solely after that do they descend to the basement to say their baggage and exit to the U.S.
“That is the place we formally welcome folks to New York,” Aument mentioned of the customs corridor. “There isn’t a basement CBP.”
The ultimate cease on the tour was baggage declare. Tucked within the basement, this area actually feels subterranean, even with the excessive ceilings. Nonetheless, donut-shaped lights are already put in and can brighten the area when full.
When full, part A of the brand new Terminal One will sit on the positioning of the previous terminals 2 and three at JFK. As soon as it opens, work will start on demolishing the present Terminal 1 that dates to 1998 the place part B with an extra 10 gates is scheduled to open in 2030.
