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JFK, LaGuardia See Growth On Horizon

Jet Blue’s new terminal at JFK would accommodate 20 million air travelers a year.

By Jeff Feinman

As development projects are budding all around the borough, Queens’ two major airports have a few plans of their own that are getting ready to soar. As flight numbers continue to reach record numbers, JFK and LaGuardia Airports have been working hard to meet increasing aviation demands.

Queens’ own airline, JetBlue, has grown into a tremendous competitor in recent years with affordable airline prices, so it is only fit that the company create an $875 million passenger terminal at JFK Airport.

Unveiled in December 2005, the terminal will set up next to the landmarked Eero Saarinen-designed TWA Terminal and will include 26 gates capable of up to 250 daily flights, 635,000 square feet of room and a 1,500-space parking garage. As a gateway between the past and the future, there will also be a walkway connection to the TWA terminal.

“We look forward to growing here,” said JetBlue founder David Neeleman at an unveiling of plans for the new terminal. “In about three years, we’ll be back cutting a ribbon to welcome thousands of more JetBlue customers.”

Jet Blue officials are predicting that the new terminal will have the capacity for 20 million customers a year, which would be double the airline’s entire current capacity. The construction of the new terminal is slated to be ready for takeoff by 2009. JetBlue has signed a 30-year lease with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

“The rise of this terminal ushers in a new era for Kennedy Airport and builds on JFK’s great legacy as the nation’s premier international gateway,” said Gov. George Pataki.

The new terminal is not the only construction project taking place at Queens’ two airports. In February, the FAA allocated $40 million in funding for a 254-foot control tower at LaGuardia Airport, which will be more than 100 feet taller than the current one. The tower is expected to be operational by 2009, the same year that the JetBlue Terminal is slated to open its doors.

Another project that elected officials have pushed for is a JFK Rail Link to Manhattan. As part of the New York State “Rebuild and Renew Transportation Bond Act,” which was approved by voters in the November 2005 election, the rail link project’s initial costs would be $100 million for property studies, engineering work and creating an environmental impact statement.

The money set out in the Bond Act will “facilitate the initial elements” of creating a link between JFK Airport, Jamaica  and Manhattan, though there are no solid plans yet for construction or implementation of existing facilities.