JetBlue breaks ground at JFK to expand Terminal 5

Image source: leyink on Flickr

NY1 reports that JetBlue has broken ground at JFK to expand Terminal 5 with a new international arrivals center. It will be approximately 150,000 square feet in size, and was designed by Gensler, the airline’s design architect partner. In the construction plans are three international arrivals gates, and US Customs and the Border Patrol will be in one building, the International Arrivals Hall. Three additional gates will be added to the international arrivals, converted from already existing gates at Terminal 5.

According to JetBlue, “the expansion is designed to take the hassle out of traveling.” It is scheduled to be finished in 2015.

At Monday’s groundbreaking event, attendees enjoyed enjoyed fresh waffles from the Wafels & Dinges food cart, as well as cookies from Baking For Good, a bakery based in Long Island City; they donate 15 percent of all net proceeds to charitable causes.

The Sacramento Bee reported a list of plans for the new international arrivals terminal extension, including two additional baggage claim belts; using “current building technologies to reduce T5i’s environmental impact”; and designing ways to move “customers through gates and Customs in the most efficient way possible with walking time and travel minimized.”

On the subject of sustainability, a whole host of environmentally-friendly practices will be implemented, including using low VOC materials inside the terminal to, in part, improve indoor air quality; low flow water fixtures; and abundant natural daylight. Some of the concrete from the airport ramp will also be reused within the building.

The new terminal will benefit a variety of interested parties, including JFK airport and JetBlue, of course, but the construction will also create jobs and the resulting terminal will likely make for a better travel experience for those on international flights, especially.

JetBlue Breaks Ground On New Int’l Terminal At JFK [NY1]
JetBlue Airways Breaks Ground on New International Arrivals Terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport [Sacramento Bee]