Whether you are coming into New York City or leaving it, traveling by air likely means that you will fly into JFK airport as it is one of three major New York international airports which serve the area – JFK, LaGuardia Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport. JFK is the largest of those three and one of the busiest airports in the entire world. Millions of passengers fly into and out of J.F. Kennedy Airport, so it is no wonder that the name is synonymous with New York City.
RELATED: Information About Queens, New York
JFK opened in 1948 as New York International Airport but was commonly called Idlewild Airport (due to its displacement of the Idlewild Beach Golf Course). It is located in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York City, and there are six passenger airport terminals, two concourses, and four runways. It is a hub for American Airlines and Delta Air Lines flights as well as a primary operating base for major airlines, JetBlue. The airport facilities are also able to support domestic and international flights with destinations to all six inhabited continents from over ninety different airlines.
LaGuardia Field was built in 1939 but became overcrowded very quickly. JFK was built to provide relief to LaGuardia. Construction on the airport began in 1943 after the city acquired the land in December 1941. With $60 million spent with government funding on 1000 acres of the golf course, the project began and was renamed the Major General Alexander E. Anderson Airport in 1943 (though the name was vetoed by Mayor La Guardia). After another 1350 acres of Idlewild was authorized for condemnation by the New York City Board of Estimate in 1944, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey leased it in 1947 and continues to maintain that lease. In 1948, the official name of the airport was changed by the City Council to New York International, though the “Idlewild” name still stuck.
The first flight out of the new airport was on July 1, 1948, and was attended by President Harry S. Truman. The Port Authority had canceled the permits to allow foreign airlines to operate in LaGuardia, so all of that traffic was temporarily rerouted to Idlewild even though it only had one out of its now many terminal buildings. By 1954 the airport had the highest volume of international air traffic for any airport in the entire world.
When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, the airport was renamed in his honor on December 24, 1963. By this point, JFK had become the busiest airport in New York because airlines began scheduling jets there in 1958-59, whereas LaGuardia didn’t receive jets until 1964.
There is six terminals with 131 gates; the terminals are numbered 1 through 8, but terminals 3 and 6 were both demolished in 2013 and 2011, respectively. Each terminal was originally known by the primary airline that served it except for the International Arrivals Building (terminal 4). This was the case until the early 1990s when all terminals were given numbers.
JFK can be an intimidating airport to fly out of or into from the top destinations around the world for some passengers, so here are some important JFK facts to know before your flight:
Depending on the time of day and the traffic on a particular day, your journey to the airport can range from 30 minutes to 2 hours. On the day of your flight, check the traffic reports. There are various routes to take via car or taxi service. Other means of getting to the airport include airport shuttles which take you right to the terminal you need, subway/train which connects to the airport, and city buses.
No matter what means of transport you decide to take, be sure you plan ahead and leave yourself plenty of time for traffic and delays. At best, you have time to visit the shops and have some food while you wait for the arrival of your flight.
Marine Nature Study Area Rufus King Park
