JetBlue’s plans of expanding its flagship terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) gained traction after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) will approve plans to develop a world-class terminal on the Terminals 6 and 7 sites.
The new Terminal 6, which will cost close to $3.9 billion, will connect with JetBlue’s flagship Terminal 5, expanding the airline’s footprint farther into the north side of the airport. The 1.2-million-square-foot terminal is set to replace aging existing facilities, and will be designed to accommodate both wide-body gates and narrow-body gates, as well as "bright and airy" check-in halls and arrival spaces to enhance the customer experience.
The project helps secure JetBlue’s long-term future at JFK with opportunities for new gates starting in 2025, and offers partner airlines the ability to co-locate with JetBlue to improve connectivity for customers. The new terminal will have more than 100,000 square feet of commercial dining and retail amenities, lounges and recreational spaces. It also aims to include critical infrastructure improvements to the airport’s roadways, optimizing traffic flow and transportation access at the airport, and incorporate the latest advances in both sustainability and security.
According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the development of Terminal 6 is expected to result in over 4,000 direct jobs (both on-site and off-site) and direct payroll wages of $1.9 billion. The total economic activity impact from the project amounts to nearly $2.8 billion in total wages and $6.3 billion in total economic activity.
JetBlue will also expand its footprint at LaGuardia Airport beyond its current space at the historic Marine Air Terminal and partially move into the airport’s recently opened and state-of-the-art Terminal B later this year with plans to move completely in 2022. At Newark, JetBlue will also move, relocating to the new Terminal A in 2022.
In addition to announcing plans for the new terminal, JetBlue also announced its intention to keep its headquarters in New York City when its current office lease expires in 2023.
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