History of JFK Airport (JFK)

Construction began in April 1942, when the City of New York contracted for the placing of hydraulic fill over the marshy tidelands on the site of Idlewild Golf Course. Planned at first for 1,000 acres, the airport grew to five times that size. First commercial flights began on July 1, 1948. The airport was formally dedicated as New York International Airport on July 31, 1948. It was re-dedicated on December 24, 1963 as John F. Kennedy International Airport, following action of the Mayor and Council of the City of New York, and a resolution of the Commissioners of the Port Authority.

JFK Airport (JFK) Services

JFK Airport Gift Shops
Gifts shops located at JFK include Hudson News and Gifts, International Shoppes, and Discover New York.

JFK airport (JFK) Restaurants and Bars
Fast food establishments and restaurants serving JFK Airport include Napa Valley Wine Bar, Brooklyn Brew Pub, Eurasia Coffee House, Euro Caf, Greenwich Village Bistro, McDonalds, Panini Express, Soup & KimBob, Sylvia's, Wok n' Roll, Creative Croissant, Burger King, Chili's Too, Great American Bagel, Manchu Wok, Sam Adam's Pub, Sbarro, Starbucks, TCBY, Au Bon Pain, Bar Avion, BowlRama, Brooklyn Ale House (B Concourse), Cafe Ritazza, Common Seating Food Court, Cucina Express, Delancey's Bar Gourmet Gift Food, Krispy Kreme, Mesa Picante, Naples Express, Pier Bar, Shannon's Bar (A Concourse), Taste of Asia, Zum Zum, Boars Head Deli, Cibo Deli, Deep Blue Sushi, Dunkin Donuts, Famous Famiglia, International Food Hall, Mex and the City, New York Sports Grill, Sammy's BBQ, Sky Asian Bistro, The Away Caf, Broadway Brewing Co., Everything Yogurt, The Grove, Nathan's, Pickles, Deli & Soups, The Treat Street EY Cart, Wok & Roll

JFK Airport (JFK) Duty Free Shopping
Duty Free stores at JFK include International Shoppes, World Duty Free America, and Duty Free.

JFK Airport (JFK) Foreign Exchange Desks
Foreign Currency Exchange desks are located at all terminal departure halls. Traveler's checks can be cashed and purchased at every terminal. Visa card and Master Card cash advances available at currency exchange counters located in all terminals.

JFK Airport Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs)
ATMs dispense cash from machines located in all terminals.

JFK Airport Internet Access
Internet plug-ins are available at public telephones in all JFK terminals.

John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport Parking

There are two kinds of public parking at JFK Airport : Long-Term Parking andDaily Parking in the Central Terminal Area (CTA). Note: Jfk Airport Terminal 8/9 Alternate Parking is easily reached by following the "Jfk Airport Terminal 8 and 9" signs located on the Van Wyck Expressway. From there, take the free shuttle bus that departs every 15 minutes directly to JFK Airport Terminals 8 and 9. E-ZPass Plus is not available in this lot.
JFK Airp[ort Long Term Parking
The Long-Term Parking Lot is located at Lefferts Blvd., approximately 4 miles from Terminals 1 through 9. 
To reach the Long-Term Parking Lot from the Belt Parkway: 
If you are traveling eastbound, take Exit 19, and bear right at the exit towards Lefferts Blvd., and turn right at the first intersection onto Lefferts Blvd. The entrance to the lot is ahead on the right. If you are traveling westbound, take Exit 18B, turn left at the first traffic light onto Lefferts Blvd., go over the overpass over the Belt Parkway, and the entrance to Long Term Parking will be ahead on your right. 

From the JFK Expressway entrance to the airport, follow the Long-Term Parking signs through the Cargo area to Federal Circle, and from there to the Long-Term Parking Lot at Lefferts Blvd. 

From the Van Wyck Expressway, take the Federal Circle exit, turn right immediately after you exit and follow signs to Long Term Parking. 

The Howard Beach Station AirTrain operates between the Central Terminal Area and Long Term Parking Station A or Station B every 4-8 minutes between 6AM and 11PM, and every 12 minutes between 11PM and 6AM. From Station A or B to the Central Terminal Area takes about 8 minutes. Please allow at least 30 minutes to reach your terminal.

E-ZPass Plus is available in the Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Long-Term Lots. 

Parking Rates for the Long-Term Parking Lot are as follows:
First 24 hours
$15 for up to 24 hours
Over First 24 hours
$5 for each 8-hour period or part thereafter

JFK Airport Daily Parking
Parking Rates for the CTA Parking Lots (Green, Blue, Yellow, and Orange) are as follows:
$3 for the first half hour or part
$6 for up to 1 hour
$3 for each hour or part thereafter, up to $30 maximum each 24-hour period

JFK Airport Terminals Plans

JFK Airport NEWS

(PressMediaWire) WASHINGTON October 9, 2008 The Bush Administration is committing almost $90 million over the next eight years to expand capacity at John F. Kennedy International Airport, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced today. She also unveiled new rules designed to lower fares, increase consumer choices and improve service for air travelers using JFK, Newark and LaGuardia airports.

The best way to cut record airline delays nationwide is to expand the limited capacity at New Yorks airport, Secretary Peters said. Building new taxiways or adding new runways takes time, though, which is why were also putting in place measures to cut delays and keep service vibrant over the short term. 

The Secretary said the U.S. Department of Transportation will sign what is known as a Letter of Intent committing the federal government to invest $89 million between 2009 and 2016 to fund a series of taxiway improvements at JFK airport. The taxiway improvements include constructing two new taxiways, extending or improving six others and creating new high-speed exit taxiways.

The taxiway work will make it easier for aircraft to maneuver between gates and the airports runways, cutting travel time and limiting delays, the Secretary said. She added that the new high-speed exit taxiways will reduce inbound delays to aircraft arriving at JFK.

The goal is simple, find every possible way to safely add as much capacity as possible to some of the most popular airports in the country, said Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Robert Sturgell. Combined with dozens of other capacity improvements were making at the airport, this new investment will lead to more flights, fewer delays and a better traveling experience for countless flyers.

Secretary Peters said that the construction work was expected to begin in 2009 and would be completed by 2014. She added that the Department also was working with local airport officials to move forward on a range of other needed capacity projects, including additional taxiways and other airfield improvements. 

She said that until the capacity improvements can come on line, the Department has limited the number of flights that could operate in a given hour at JFK and Newark airports. Combined with existing caps at LaGuardia airport, the Secretary said that service at the airport was at risk of stagnating since other competitors are locked out of the market. She cautioned that studies have found airfares at capped airports run 11 to 15 percent higher than at comparable airports without caps.

In order to keep the New York aviation market open to new services that would promote competitive fares, the Secretary also announced final rules to auction a limited number of landing and take-off slots at each of the regions three airports. Under the final rules, airlines operating at JFK, Newark and LaGuardia would receive a 10-year ownership of the vast majority of FAA slots they currently operate, the Secretary said.

However, the new rules call for a gradual auctioning over the next five years of up to 10 percent of the landing and take off slots these airlines currently operate free of charge today. She added that the rules also would lower the hourly operating cap at LaGuardia airport from 75 slots per hour to 71 slots per hour by retiring an additional five percent of the slots currently being used, cutting delays by an estimated 40 percent.

Under the rule for La Guardia, existing airlines would keep 988 of the slots they currently operate. The remaining 113 slots would be made available over the next five years by auction to airlines interested in starting new service or expanding current operations at the airport.

In addition, under the rule for JFK and Newark, existing airlines would keep 1,035 of the slots they currently operate at JFK Airport and 1,154 of the 1,245 slots they currently operate at Newark Airport. The remaining 89 slots at JFK and 91 slots at Newark would be made available over a five-year period for airlines wishing to expand their current operations or start new services at either of the airports.

The Secretary said that as a result of the auctions, all airlines would have an opportunity to enter or expand current operations in the New York market. She noted that additional competition like the kind the auctions would bring is proven to lower fares and improve service. She noted, for example, that fares declined by 25 percent at Philadelphia International Airport after a new airline entered that market in 2004. She added that when a new airline began serving JFK airport in 2000, fares fell to some destinations by as much as 50 percent.

Without slot auctions, a small number of airlines will profit while travelers bear the brunt of higher fares, fewer choices and deteriorating service, the Secretary said. Slot auctions, meanwhile, will keep flights to New York affordable, available and vibrant while giving all airlines an opportunity to compete in one of the worlds most popular aviation markets.