JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay.

[11] The airport is also a former hub for Braniff, Eastern, Flying Tigers, National, Northeast, Northwest, Pan Am, Seaboard World, Tower Air, and TWA.

The renaming was vetoed by Mayor La Guardia and reinstated by the New York City Council; in common usage, the airport was still called "Idlewild".

The Port Authority cancelled foreign airlines' permits to use LaGuardia, forcing them to move to Idlewild during the next couple of years.

[38] After tests demonstrating that it was no noisier than the loudest of the then-current propeller plane, approval was granted for a Sud Aviation Caravelle prototype to be the next jet airliner to land at Idlewild, on May 2, 1957.

[39][40] Later in 1957, the Soviet Union sought approval for two jet-powered Tupolev Tu-104 flights carrying diplomats to land at Idlewild; the Port Authority did not allow them, saying noise tests had to be done first.

The terminal had "finger" piers at right angles to the main building allowing more aircraft to park, an innovation at the time.

Trans World Airlines opened the TWA Flight Center in 1962, designed by Eero Saarinen with a distinctive winged-bird shape.

The Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved a $20 million planning study for the redevelopment of Terminals 2 and 3, the Delta Air Lines hub, in 2008.

The system also serves Federal Circle, the JFK long-term parking lot, and two multimodal rapid transit stations: Howard Beach and Jamaica.

While AirTrain travel within airport property is complimentary, external transfers at the latter two locations are paid via OMNY or MetroCard and provide access to the New York City Subway, Long Island Rail Road, and MTA Bus services.

Bus fares are paid via OMNY or MetroCard, with free transfers provided to New York City Subway services.

In 2019, PANYNJ approved the implementation of "airport access fee" surcharges on FHV and taxi trips, with the revenue earmarked to support the agency's capital programs.

[100] Like Terminal 1, the facility is Airbus A380-compatible with service currently provided by Emirates to Dubai (both non-stop and one-stop via Milan), and Etihad Airways to Abu Dhabi.

Delta sought funding from the New York City Industrial Development Agency,[111] and work on Phase II was completed in January 2015.

In early 2020, Governor Cuomo announced that the Port Authority and Delta/IAT had agreed to terms extending Concourse A by 16 domestic gates, renovating the arrival/departure halls, and improving land-side roadways for $3.8 billion.

[116] The structural addition extends the headhouse between the control tower and gate A2, and includes 15,000 square-feet of dining, bars, and fitness facilities.

As of March 28, 2021, United operated transcontinental nonstop service from Terminal 7 to its west coast hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

It offers dozens of retail and food outlets, 84 ticket counters, 44 self-service kiosks, ten security checkpoint lanes, and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility that can process more than 1,600 people an hour.

On January 4, 2017, the office of then-New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to renovate most of the airport's existing infrastructure for $7 to $10 billion.

[147] The panel had several recommendations, including enlarging the newer terminals; relocating older terminals; reconfiguring highway ramps and increasing the number of lanes on the Van Wyck Expressway; lengthening AirTrain JFK trainsets or connecting the line to the New York City transportation system, and rebuilding the Jamaica station with direct connections to the Long Island Rail Road and the New York City Subway.

[152][154] On December 13, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul gave a further update on the plans to build a new Terminal 1, which in a further developed form would cost US$9.5 billion.

The construction will be built under a public–private partnership between the Port Authority and a consortium, known as JFK Millennium Partners, comprising JetBlue, RXR Realty, and Vantage Airport Group.

Terminal 2 opened in November 1962 as the home of Northeast Airlines, Braniff International Airways, and Northwest Orient, and was last occupied by Delta Air Lines.

On May 23, 2013, the final departure from the terminal, Delta Air Lines Flight 268, a Boeing 747-400 to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, departed from Gate 6 at 23:25 local time.

[99] The TWA Flight Center was opened in 1962 and closed in 2001 after its primary tenant, Trans World Airlines, went out of business; the terminal had seen increased capacity issues in the years prior.

[2] The air traffic control tower, designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and constructed on the ramp-side of Terminal 4, began full FAA operations in October 1994.

[222][223] In 2009 the PANYNJ stated in its preliminary 2010 budget that it was closing the hotel due to "declining aviation activity and a need for substantial renovation" and that it expected to save $1 million per month.

[343] The JFK air cargo complex is a Foreign Trade Zone, which legally lies outside the customs area of the United States.

[348] Carrier shares (Dec. 2023 – Nov. 2024) In the immediate vicinity of the airport, parking and other information can be obtained by tuning to a highway advisory radio station at 1630 AM.