John F. Kennedy International Airport - Terminals

Terminals

JFK has seven terminals (ten until the late 1990s and nine until early 2000s) containing 151 gates, numbered 1–8, but skipping Terminal 6, the former Sundrome, which was demolished in 2011 after Terminal 5 was expanded (the number will remain disused and skipped). The number of terminals will decrease to six following the expansion of Terminal 4 (currently in progress), at which point Terminal 3 will be demolished (slated for completion by 2015).

The terminal buildings, with the exception of the former Tower Air terminal, are arranged in a deformed U-shaped wavy pattern around a central area containing parking, hotels, a power plant, and other airport facilities. The terminals are connected by the AirTrain system and access roads. Wayfinding signage throughout the terminals was designed by Paul Mijksenaar. A 2006 survey by J.D. Power and Associates in conjunction with Aviation Week found JFK ranked second in overall traveller satisfaction among large airports in the United States, behind McCarran International Airport which serves the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

Until the early 1990s, the terminals were known by the primary airlines that served it, except for Terminal 4, which was known as the International Arrivals Building. In the early 1990s, all of the terminals were given numbers except for the Tower Air terminal, which sat outside the Central Terminals area and was not numbered. Like in the other airports controlled by the Port Authority, terminals are sometimes managed and operated by independent terminal operators. At JFK, all terminals are currently operated by airlines or consortiums of the airlines serving them, with the exception of the Schiphol Group-operated Terminal 4.