How New York is building a new maintenance terminal at its largest airport

New York’s largest airport is undergoing a major overhaul.

John F. Kennedy International Airport begins construction new Terminal One in September 2022. The 2.4 million square foot facility will be located where Terminals 1, 2 and 3 once stood, with the first facilities expected to open in 2026.

A private consortium will invest $9.5 billion. modernize the new terminal with a focus on safety, efficiency and customer service. That’s part of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s $19 billion total. total investment in the modernization of the city’s largest airport.

And there’s no better time than now, since industry sees record travelwhile JFK Airport is considered one of the most famous international gateways in North America.

JFK Airport welcomes more than 70 airlines and will serve approximately 62 million passengers in 2023. The new terminal is expected to increase passenger traffic, with carriers such as Phillippines Airlines, Air France and Italian budget airline Neos all promising to fly here.

The developers hope that the future modern terminal will become Five star airport terminal Skytrax – a feat that no US airport had ever achieved until New York’s LaGuardia Airport finally dropped its infamous “LaGarbage” nickname with new and improved Terminal B in 2023.

But to achieve this status, JFK will have to overcome many long-standing problems, such as overcrowding and traffic jams. In September, researchers from InsureMyTrip analyzed Department of Transportation data and found that JFK Airport ranked among the worst airports for flight cancellations in 2024.

Business Insider joined other media outlets to visit SITA’s pre-production testing facility on Long Island to get a behind-the-scenes look at the technologies coming to the new terminal that will help solve problems for international travelers.

This includes face recognition boarding, AI-powered gate systems and air traffic technology to reduce near misses. If the technology works as promised, I’m looking forward to flying.

Customers can use the face to travel

The facial recognition system has been installed at select airports across the country for international flights, including Kennedy Airport’s renovated Terminal 8. BI used biometrics to board British Airways flight to London flight.

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The new terminal wants to make facial recognition mainstream at the 23-gate facility.

The e-gate technology has proven to be quite easy to use even for less tech-savvy travelers. Flyers simply register for the service at check-in by presenting your passport. The data is only stored for 24 hours, so travelers will have to complete this step every time they fly.

“Electronic gates mean you don’t need a boarding pass or ID to board a plane,” a SITA developer said during the tour.

The developer said the technology has an accuracy of about 99% and can distinguish identical twins. The company acknowledged that not every traveler would be comfortable with their face being used as identification and said manual queues would also be available for boarding.

Meanwhile, the improved TSA will include new biometric and contactless features. technologies to optimize waiting time. Another terminals JFK Airport has already introduced similar face-based security features.

Concessions will be at the highest level

While JFK likely won’t offer a free movie theater or butterfly garden like Singapore’s famous Changi AirportThe new terminal will have high ceilings, natural light and plenty of retail space, lounges and restaurants.

However, if updated Terminal 8 By any measure, customers can expect “world class” offerings, including luxury and local brands representing the New York City area, as well as swanky new airline lounges that can match the desired five-star status.

For example, Korean Air – the five-star airline Skytrax itself – plans to open one of the largest lounges with a kitchen and bar and panoramic views of the airfield.

The new JFK airport aims to operate more safely with fewer disruptions.

The developers demonstrated technologies aimed at ensuring a high level of safety and traffic management – especially Misses continue to shake the leaflets.

One of them is a state-of-the-art ramp from technology provider ADB Safegate. Here, agents work to efficiently move aircraft around taxi areas and stands. It is separate from the federal control tower that directs planes to and from runways.

The technology includes a “virtual control tower” with screens showing live feeds from cameras located on the ramp. This will help in low visibility conditions and increase awareness.

“There are cameras that allow a controller interested in a specific aircraft or a specific area of ​​the airport to zoom in and out to look at the area of ​​interest,” ADB Safegate project manager Taha Zaheer told media during the tour.

Another ADB Safegate technology will be a parking assistance system, which will allow the aircraft to dock at the gate in almost any weather conditions. Zaheer said this would be especially useful during thunderstorms, when walkers are evacuated from the runway and are forced to leave fully loaded planes idling just meters from the gate.

Zaheer said the docking system, which can handle everything up to a giant Airbus A380, is already proving effective at existing JFK terminals and at several other airports such as LaGuardia and Los Angeles.

Complementing the gate and ramp tower technology is the AI-powered ADB Safegate ramp manager, which can predict aircraft flight times and reduce aircraft turn times, meaning passengers can be on their way faster than before.

“We have identified 25 to 30 operations that each flight must go through from arrival to departure,” Zaheer said, noting things like refueling and baggage loading. “We know exactly what’s going on with the plane.”