What to Know
- After a two-year delay due to the pandemic, officials finally broke ground on John F. Kennedy Airport's new international terminal Thursday.
- The 2.4 million square foot terminal is going to not only be the largest for the airport, but a costly project.
- Construction of the new terminal will cost $9.5 billion and will house 14 gates, which will open by 2026. Nine other gates, plus other terminals, will open by 2030.
After a two-year delay due to the pandemic, officials finally broke ground on John F. Kennedy Airport's new international terminal Thursday.
The 2.4 million square foot terminal is going to not only be the largest for the airport, but a costly project.
"When traffic is at two percent no one knew what the future was gonna bring," Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton, who was at the groundbreaking ceremony, told News 4 when asked if they had doubts during the height of pandemic whether the project would take place.
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It has been years since the Port Authority, who is in charge of area airports, green-lit the plan for a new Terminal 1.
Construction of the new terminal will cost $9.5 billion and will house 14 gates, which will open by 2026. Nine other gates, plus other terminals, will open by 2030.
"This will be the largest free-standing terminal, not just here, but in the nation," Gov. Kathy Hochul said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
News
While some New Yorkers have come to accept the region's largest airport as is, others have noticed that the international hub had fallen behind the times. Although the "old" Terminal 1 opened 24 years ago, some areas of the terminal are 60 years old.
“I guess I have low expectations. I think it’s ok," traveler Jessica Katz said.
“It’s a work in progress. Not quite like LaGuardia which is very fancy but we will get there," Cortland Daniel, of Richmond Hill, Queens, said.
What exactly cleared the project for takeoff? Private dollars. The promise of 10,000 jobs, most of those in construction. And a huge team of investors including basketball legend Magic Johnson, who alongside his partners committed $1 billion dollars to the project.
“This project is really gonna touch Queens in a big way but also all the passengers that fly out of and come into JFK," Johnson said.
Although most of the money is coming from the private sector, the Port Authority is putting up about $3 billion to fix the roads leading into the airport.
It will be about four years before passenger arrive at the new terminal.
