JFK Airport will get 2 new terminals in $13B transformation

NEW YORK — John F. Kennedy International Airport will get two new terminals, centralized ground transport, and better security and runways in a transformation that will increase its capacity by at least 15 million passengers a year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.

The project was initially announced last year, but the governor’s update offered the public its first glimpse at many details of the ambitious plan to rebuild one of the nation’s busiest airports.

“JFK has been outdated all of my life,” Cuomo said in a speech to a gathering of the Association for a Better New York. He noted similar redevelopment efforts at LaGuardia Airport as Penn Station, saying New York must update its transportation infrastructure or fall behind other cities. “Either you are building and you are creating, or you are getting left behind, that is the simple reality of life.”

Construction for the seven-year, $13 billion update is expected to begin in 2020. The first new gates are scheduled to open three years later, with most of the project completed in 2025. The newly redesigned airport will be able to accommodate larger international flights.