John F. Kennedy International Airport (original) (raw)

John Fitzgerald Kennedy International Airport is one of the airports of New York City, New York United States. JFK is perched partly in the neighborhood of Jamaica and partly in Howard Beach, nearby the Jamaica Bay. It is one of the largest airports in the world.

JFK is best known as the city's international hub, with flights to Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. Flights to Canada and other airports in the United States (especially the West Coast) also use JFK.

JetBlue Airways has made JFK its principal hub since 2000: the airport is also a focus city for American Airlines and Delta Airlines, and a base for United Airlines. In previous years, the airport has been a hub for Pan Am, TWA, Eastern Airlines, and Flying Tigers.

History

The airport is as much a famous staple of New York City as the Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, Statue of Liberty, and Empire State Building. It was first known as Idlewild airport, as crews began to build it around a sporting complex named the Idlewild Golf Course. Construction of the airport began in 1942, and at that time, they thought they would only need 1,000 acres to build it: however, as aviation grew, so did Idlewild, and since then, 4,000 more acres have been added.

July 1, 1948 was the date the airport saw its first commercial flight. It was dedicated as New York International Airport on July 31 of that same year, although the name "Idlewild" remained in common use and the airport's IATA code was IDL.

On December 24th, 1963, it was renamed to John F. Kennedy International Airport to honor the memory of the late President John F. Kennedy, and hence received the new IATA airport code of JFK.

The Beatles were welcomed into the United States in 1964 at this airport, creating a historic moment in time both for music and the airport.

In 1975, an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 crashed there: 112 passengers and crew died.

The Concorde SST, operated by Air France and British Airways, provided scheduled trans-Atlantic supersonic service to JFK from 1975 until 2003, when Concorde was retired by both carriers, ending civilian supersonic travel. JFK had the most SST operations annually of any airport in the world.

In 1983, Korean Air Flight 7, flying the JFK - Anchorage - Seoul route, was shot down by the Soviets after straying into Soviet airspace.

Also, during the 1990s, some planes that took off there suffered tragedies, including TWA Flight 800 to Charles De Gaulle International Airport, (near Paris, and Swissair Flight 111 to Geneva. Then Egyptair Flight 990, bound for Cairo on a Los Angeles-New York-Cairo route, crashed off of Nantucket.

If Project Bojinka had not been discovered after a fire in Manila, Philippines, one or more aircraft owned by a U.S. carrier/s in this airport would have blown up over the Pacific Ocean on January 21, 1995 as part of the project's first phase.

On July 25 2000, an Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde bound from Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris, France for John F. Kennedy Airport crashed in nearby Gonesse after coming in contact with material that had been left by another plane on the runway. The Concorde was on a charter flight for a tour company. Everyone on board died, as did four people on the ground. This was the first time a Concorde had crashed.

After the tragedy of the September 11th attack in 2001, JFK was one of the first airports to be temporarily closed.

On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 en route to Punta Caucedo, Dominican Republic, crashed nearby while trying to make an emergency return to the airport, and all passengers died.

Structure and Function

Four runways in two parallel pairs surround the central terminal area. Runway 13R-31L is the longest commercial runway in North America, at a length of 14,572'.

The 1948 Temporary Terminal was the sole terminal until construction of the rush. 1957 International Arrivals Building, which was itself replaced by the $1.4B Terminal 4 in 2001. Eight other "Unit Terminals" were constructed 1958-1971. Replacements for some of the original terminals have been completed or are under development. There are also numerous large facilities for air cargo handling and loading.

In 1998, the airport began construction of a light-rail system called the AirTrain, designed ultimately to link JFK's passenger terminals to New York City's general mass transit system. After over a year of delay, caused by the death of an employee during testing, the system opened on December 17, 2003.

Terminal 1

Terminal 2

Terminal 3

Terminal 4

Terminal 6

Terminal 7

Terminal 8

Terminal 9