It was designed by Ives, Turano & Gardner Associated Architects and Walther Prokosch of Tippets-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton as a showcase for international jet travel and was particularly famous for its 4-acre (1.6 ha) "flying saucer" roof projecting out from the outer columns of the terminal supported on 32 sets of pre-stressed horizontal steel posts and cables.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Guide to New York City called the terminal a "genuine architectural attempt to answer the problem of all-weather connections to the planes" but derided the overall concept as "compromised by an overabundance of distracting detail".

[1] The building's facade originally featured zodiac figures made by sculptor Milton Hebald,[2] although these were later removed by the Port Authority.

Delta Air Lines acquired many of Pan Am's assets, including the lease on Worldport, which became known simply as "Terminal 3", and operated most of its long-haul flights out of JFK to Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America from the building.

On May 23, 2013, the final departure from Terminal 3, Delta Air Lines Flight 268, a Boeing 747-400 to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, departed from Gate 6 at 11:25pm local time.

[6] On June 19, 2013, Worldport was placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of eleven Most Endangered Places in America for 2013,[7] but by June 25, 2013, demolition of the elevated roadway leading to the terminal had already begun, although preservationists continued to protest against the demolition of the building itself.