New York’s busiest airport is within the midst of a main makeover, and with it comes the demolition of one of many longest-standing relics of a bygone period.
As of Jan. 15, the 60-year-old Terminal 2 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) will now not be operational. The airport is winding down operations on the 10-gate facility beginning Jan. 10, starting with the phase-out of departing flights.
Arriving flights will now not use Terminal 2 as of Jan. 14, the date when the power closes for good, based on an replace posted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the federal government company liable for overseeing JFK airport.
After Terminal 2 closes, it will meet its last destiny: demolition. The facility is anticipated to be torn down in phases shortly after the ultimate arriving flight lands Jan. 14. There’s no phrase but on which flight would be the final to deplane on the facility.
While the closing could also be bittersweet for some longtime vacationers, the demolition will make method for an all-new JFK expertise that is more likely to impress anybody who has lately handed by means of the airport.
By tearing down Terminal 2, airport authorities are making method for the “New Terminal One,” which replaces the present Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 areas. It may also embody the vacant web site of Terminal 3, fondly remembered as Pan Am’s Worldport.
Construction on the New Terminal One started in September. The new terminal will measure a whopping 2.4 million sq. ft, almost as massive as LaGuardia Airport’s (LGA) two new terminals mixed. Construction is anticipated to be totally accomplished in 2030.
At a price of $9.5 billion, the New Terminal One will change into the flagship JFK worldwide terminal. All however one of many new facility’s 23 gates will be capable to accommodate wide-body plane that fly long-haul missions.
The demolition of Terminal 2 and the New Terminal One are parts of the foremost $18 billion “JFK Vision” transformation plan, which additionally contains an expanded Terminal 4 and Terminal 8, and new Terminal 6.
Sign up for our day by day publication
While the longer term is shiny for JFK and the area that Terminal 2 used to occupy, it hasn’t essentially been that method lately. Terminal 2 first opened on Nov. 18, 1962, and it was collectively operated by three now-defunct or nonexistent airline manufacturers: Braniff, Northwest and Northeast.
Terminal 2 has had the identical variety of gates (10) all through its historical past, however they are not all massive sufficient to serve wide-body jets. The facility is now the oldest lively terminal at JFK, one of many unique items of what was known as “Terminal City.”
In the early Nineteen Sixties, JFK (then known as Idlewild Airport) was rising so quickly that airport planners determined to dedicate a person terminal to every main airline working there on the time. The largest carriers, similar to TWA and Eastern Airlines, received their very own amenities, whereas Braniff, Northwest and Northeast shared Terminal 2.
Fast ahead a few years and Delta has used Terminal 2 as an auxiliary area for its hub operations in New York, with some flights departing and arriving at this outdated facility.
Though Delta operated a Sky Club in Terminal 2, it wasn’t almost as massive or as spectacular as its fundamental one in Terminal 4, the airline’s main house at JFK. To ease connections, Delta operated an airside shuttle bus between terminals 2 and 4.
With the closure of Terminal 2, Delta’s operations will likely be consolidated at Terminal 4. While which will quickly place some pressure on the present 38-gate facility, Terminal 4 may also get a significant enlargement, which incorporates extra gates for Delta’s operation, together with $100 million in renovations for the present check-in areas, in addition to a modified arrivals-level curb to help congestion.
In addition to the New Terminal One and expanded Terminal 4, a brand-new Terminal 6 is within the works. In November, the Port Authority introduced that this undertaking secured the required funding to maneuver ahead with building.
The new 1.2 million-square-foot Terminal 6 will likely be on the north aspect of the airport between the present Terminal 5 and seven amenities. It’ll function 10 gates, 9 of which will likely be able to dealing with wide-body plane.
The first section is anticipated to open in 2026, adopted by a full completion in 2028. Groundbreaking is anticipated within the new few weeks.
When Terminal 6 is full, the present Terminal 7 will likely be demolished.
One a part of the JFK Vision plan already opened late final 12 months: the expanded Terminal 8. American Airlines led a $400 million modernization of its JFK house that features new gates, three new premium lounges and an overhauled check-in space.
As a part of the enlargement, British Airways and Iberia moved into Terminal 8, with Japan Airlines anticipated to co-locate with its Oneworld alliance companions later this 12 months.
Until all of the JFK building is full, vacationers departing from the airport ought to test their flight standing to maintain up with the most recent adjustments to gate and terminal assignments.