North Jersey travelers using John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City should allow an additional hour of travel time due to delays caused by construction of two new terminals and airport road upgrades.
All told, that means arriving at JFK Airport three hours early for a flight, instead of the typically recommended two hours early, said officials with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the Queens airport.
A $19.5 billion project to build brand new Terminals 1 and 6 “is at the peak of construction,” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said at a pre-Thanksgiving travel press conference on Nov. 25.
Story continues below photo gallery.
Construction includes $9.5 billion for a 2.4 million-square-foot Terminal 1, opening in 2026, and $4.2 billion for a 1.2 million-square-foot Terminal 6 opening the same year. Renovations of Terminal 4 were completed this year and Terminal 8 in 2022, and $3.9 billion of new roads around the airport are expected to be completed by 2026.
Construction is particularly challenging, Cotton said, “given that we are rebuilding JFK while maintaining full operations” at one of the nation’s busiest airports.
And the travel season is expected to be busy leading up to the holidays: On the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2023, the Transportation Security Administration said it screened more than 91,000 passengers, compared to more than 105,000 passengers this year.
Pushing transit to reduce car traffic at JFK
Since June, the Port Authority has managed to remove 4,000 cars a day from the roads leading to JFK, said spokesperson Cheryl Ann Albiez.
That’s thanks to efforts like the addition of peak-hour AirTrain trips from Jamaica Station, which can be accessed via New York City’s E, J and Z subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road, said Jessica Forse, project manager from JFK. Airport.
Construction site of the new Terminal One at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Monday, November 25, 2024. The new Terminal One is being built as part of JFK’s $19 billion redevelopment plan.
The Port Authority cut AirTrain fares in half this summer to encourage more people to use public transportation.
The agency also created a dedicated pick-up and drop-off area away from the busy terminal entrances.
Passengers can take the AirTrain through the Lefferts Boulevard station to get to the pick-up/drop-off area, a ride that takes an average of eight minutes and costs no travelers, according to the Port Authority.
New Terminal B is coming to Newark Liberty
Meanwhile, building on the success of Newark Liberty International Airport’s new Terminal A, the Port Authority in October unveiled a sweeping plan to modernize the rest of the 96-year-old airport, which handled a record number of passengers last year.
The plan calls for a new international terminal to replace Terminal B and upgrades to Terminal C, both of which date back to the 1970s. The new Terminal A could also be expanded.
Conceptual representation of changes to Terminals B and C at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Major changes would be made to the aircraft taxiway area to reduce air traffic delays and accommodate the trend towards larger aircraft.
And areas outside the terminals would be expanded and improved to provide more space for vehicles to drop off and pick up passengers and to reduce walking distances.
The new plan is just a concept, and actual construction will take years. The Port Authority expects to begin a two- to three-year planning process in 2025 for key components of the redevelopment, including cost projections.
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
E-mail: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: JFK Airport construction could cause delays from NJ
