The transformation of New York Metropolis’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK) continues to surge forward. This week, the airport reached a considerable milestone when the brand-new Terminal 6 completed its curtain partitions and enclosed the brand new terminal for the primary time.
It is a main milestone, and the airport is on observe to carry a grand opening this coming January — forward of schedule.
TPG was one in every of solely two media shops that received a tour of the brand new terminal, which will likely be a serious step ahead for airport infrastructure within the Northeast.
We additionally received our first have a look at a newly unveiled artwork set up that may greet passengers as they arrive on the airport. You may see what that spectacular mural will seem like within the illustration under.
The 12,000 sq. foot “JFK World Panorama” is a custom-designed, 3D ombre art work that includes iconic New York Metropolis-based imagery and flight routes illustrating international connectivity.
A reworked JFK Airport and brand-new Terminal 6
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs JFK, is in the course of a $19 billion challenge to remodel the airport. When it is carried out, there will likely be a number of brand-new terminals, in addition to new roads and ramps to make attending to and from the airport a lot simpler.
The group behind the fabulous Terminal B at New York Metropolis’s completely redone LaGuardia Airport (LGA) can be constructing Terminal 6 at JFK.
JFK Millennium Companions gave TPG a tour of the brand new Terminal 6 and advised us about how Terminal 7 subsequent door will ultimately get torn down. In its footprint, one other 4 gates for the second part of the challenge will grow to be a part of an expanded Terminal 6. The second part is anticipated to open in 2028.
The brand new terminal will likely be a whopping 1.2 million sq. toes and provide 10 new gates, a number of of which will likely be constructed to deal with wide-body jets. You will get a good suggestion of the scale of the house whenever you look out over the brand new central hub of the brand new terminal.
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“This success helps different upcoming milestones, together with including everlasting energy and dwell testing the constructing,” JFK Millennium Companions mentioned in a press launch.
The press launch continued: “Greater than 1,200 native staff are at present on website to make sure a easy opening for greater than a dozen carriers that will likely be relocating to the brand new terminal, amongst them: Aer Lingus, Air Canada, ANA, Austrian Airways, Avianca, Brussels Airways, Cathay Pacific, Condor, Frontier, JetBlue, Kuwait Airways, Lufthansa, Norse Atlantic, and SWISS.”
The brand new Terminal 6 at JFK
Starting at departures, passengers can look ahead to the brand new terminal’s digital-first visitor expertise, with a large light-filled corridor full of digital billboards and blond wooden accents.
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The departures space will function one of many longest departures curbs at JFK, with airline-branded passenger drop-off zones.
They’re utterly reconstructing the roadway system in entrance of the terminal, too. It can have extra logical entry and exit spots, in addition to easy accessibility to 2 completely different AirTrain stations.
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Ultimately, it is going to be lower than a five-minute common stroll from the TSA safety checkpoint exit to all gates.
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As soon as by way of safety, it is possible for you to to enter the large welcome corridor, the Grand Corridor, which can function a large skylight and 100,000 sq. toes of New York Metropolis-inspired procuring and eating shops.
It is an awe-inspiring house, even when it nonetheless seems to be like a development zone.
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You may inform how wonderful it would ultimately be. Listed below are some renderings of what the ultimate product would possibly seem like.
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New Terminal 6 rendering. JFK MILLENNIUM PARTNERS
Terminal 6 may have 5 airline lounges airside, plus an arrivals lounge. JFK Millennium advised me there’s not but a confirmed airline to host the first-ever arrivals lounge at JFK Airport (so should you’re an airline, there’s nonetheless time to seize the house).
It is laborious to inform within the images under, however that is the place Lufthansa is opening a large new lounge in Terminal 6, which may have a devoted entrance by way of escalators. Whereas we do not but have all the main points, we count on it would embody devoted Lufthansa first-class, business-class and Senator lounges.
Cathay Pacific goes to open its first-ever JFK lounge on this house, too. An enormous announcement about one in every of that lounge’s cool options ought to come quickly.
Aer Lingus has additionally confirmed that it’ll have a devoted lounge in Terminal 6; it is going to be reachable by way of a set of stairs you’ll be able to see within the photograph under.
Within the photograph above, you’ll be able to see that the left facet is the place you will stroll towards Terminal 5 as soon as development is full.
The brand new terminal will likely be linked each land- and airside to the adjoining Terminal 5, which is house to JetBlue Airways’ JFK hub. By the point the challenge is completed, you’ll trip between terminals 5 and 6 for procuring and even lounge hopping.
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Terminal 6 and JetBlue’s Terminal 5 will really share a customs corridor. You may see the images of the brand new customs space within the gallery under; it would function wide-open areas and pure mild coming from the partitions and ceiling above.
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The luggage system is spectacular. It begins with biometric bag drops at check-in. From there, baggage will get carried by way of a posh system of conveyer belts and scanned by robots.
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One other factor to notice concerning the challenge is its environmental focus. The terminal makes use of sustainably sourced constructing supplies, rooftop solar energy, and energy-efficient methods and working practices all through. JFK Millennium Companions advised me it’s aiming to have LEED Silver or Gold certification for the challenge.
Backside line
When completed, the reworked Terminal 6 will likely be a sight to behold. From the dramatic skylights to the huge Grand Corridor, the biometric screening and bag drops to the robotic baggage handlers, this airport terminal will likely be fairly a revelation.
It may find yourself being one of many nation’s greatest airport terminals — and can give the opposite LGA and Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR) an actual run for greatest tri-state airport as soon as it is all carried out.
For extra concerning the revamped JFK, make sure to take a look at the newest under.
