"Construction starts at new Kennedy Airport terminal"

Wednesday, December 7, 2005

Construction starts at new Kennedy Airport terminal
The Associated Press


NEW YORK (AP) - Construction got underway Wednesday on a new $875 million
JetBlue passenger terminal at Kennedy International Airport that will enable
the discount airliner to more than double its daily flights. 

The 26-gate Terminal 5 is going up behind the TWA Flight Center and is
expected to be completed in early 2009. 

"With our investment in this new facility, we provide New Yorkers with
unbridled access to more flights serving more destinations, including
upstate New York, than anywhere else in the world," Gov. George Pataki said
in a statement. He was joined by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, JetBlue and Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey officials in making the announcement. 

The governor said that the Port Authority was financing $795 million of the
$875 million project, with JetBlue contributing $80 million. 

The new JetBlue terminal will be connected to the adjacent landmark TWA
terminal, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1962. The TWA terminal will be
rehabilitated at the same time but most likely will not be used as a
passenger terminal because of its physical and aeronautical limitations. A
developer for its adaptive reuse will be announced next year. 

The New York-based airline began operations in 2000 with service from JFK to
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 

"Today, JetBlue flies to 32 cities and employs more than 4,000 people at JFK
alone," Bloomberg said. "JetBlue's expansion is the latest sign that the
airline industry can be a growth sector in New York City." 

Pataki said JetBlue is Kennedy Airport's busiest carrier, with nearly 10
million annual passengers. The new terminal is part of the $9.4 billion
redevelopment of JFK. Two of the eight other terminals have already been
completed. 

JetBlue currently is building a temporary seven-gate terminal at Terminal 5
to accommodate its growth at Terminal 6. 

Port Authority Executive Director Kenneth Ringler Jr. said that passenger
traffic at Kennedy Airport increased more than 20 percent from 2002 to 2004,
to more than 37.5 million travelers last year. For 2005, the bistate agency
was projecting an all-time high of 41 million passengers at Kennedy. 

JetBlue is a low-fare airline based in New York City, with flights to 33
cities throughout North American and the Caribbean. It currently operates
127 flights daily out of JFK; the new terminal will be able to handle 250
flights daily or up to 20 million passengers annually.


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