New York City’s largest airport is undergoing a major renovation.

The foundation of John F. Kennedy International Airport was laid a new Terminal One The 2.4 million square foot facility will be located where terminals 1, 2 and 3 once stood, with the first facilities expected to open in 2026.

A. private consortium invests 9.5 billion dollars Modernizing the new terminal with a focus on safety, efficiency and customer experience. This is part of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s $19 billion. Total investment in improvements to the city’s largest airport.

And there’s never been a better time, because industry sees record-breaking travelJFK is considered among the most prominent international gateways in North America.

JFK hosted more than 70 airlines and served approximately 62 million passengers in 2023. The new terminal is expected to expand passenger capacity, with carriers such as Phillippines Airlines, Air France and Italian low-cost carrier Neos promising to fly.

Developers have developed a future state-of-the-art terminal Skytrax five star airport terminal – a feat no US airport had ever accomplished until New York’s LaGuardia Airport finally abandoned its infamous “LaGarbage” nickname for one. New and improved Terminal B in 2023.

But to achieve that status, JFK will need to overcome many long-standing problems, such as overcrowding and weather. traffic jam. researchers in September InsuranceMyTrip It analyzed data from the Department of Transportation and found that JFK was among the worst airports for flight cancellations in 2024.

Business Insider, along with other media outlets, toured SITA’s pre-production testing center on Long Island to get a behind-the-scenes look at the technology coming to the new terminal to address pain points for international travelers.

This includes: facial recognition boarding, AI-enabled gate systems and air traffic technology to reduce the likelihood of near misses. If the technology works as promised, I look forward to flying.

Customers can use their faces to travel

Facial recognition has been installed at some airports across the country for international flights, including JFK’s renovated Terminal 8. In March, BI used biometrics to board British Airways flight to London Flight.

The new terminal looks to bring facial recognition mainstream at the 23-gate facility.

The “e-gate” technology seemed easy enough for even less tech-savvy travelers to use. Flyers simply register for the service with their passports upon check-in. Passengers will need to perform this step every time they fly, as data is only stored for 24 hours.

“E-gates mean no boarding pass and no identification is required to board,” a SITA developer said during the tour.

The developer said the technology is about 99% accurate and can distinguish identical twins. The company acknowledged that every passenger would be uncomfortable with their face being used as identification and said manual lines for boarding would also be available.

Meanwhile, the improved TSA will have new biometric and contactless features technologies to optimize waiting times. Other terminals Similar face-based security features have already been rolled out at JFK.

Privileges will be at the highest level

Although JFK probably won’t offer a free movie theater or butterfly garden Singapore’s famous Changi AirportThe new terminal will feature high ceilings, natural light and plenty of retail space, lounges and restaurants.

Still if renewed Terminal 8 In any case, customers can expect “premium” offerings, including luxury and local brands representing New York’s boroughs and flashy new airline lounges that could meet the coveted five-star status.

For example, Korean Airlines The five-star airline, Skytrax itself, plans to open one of its largest lounges, complete with a kitchen, bar and panoramic views of the airport.

New JFK aims for safer operations with fewer disruptions

In particular, developers demonstrated technologies aimed at providing a high level of security and traffic management. Near misses continue to hit flyers.

One of these is a state-of-the-art ramp tower from technology provider ADB Safegate. This is where agencies work to move planes efficiently around taxi and parking areas. It is separate from the federally operated air traffic control tower that directs planes to and from runways.

The technology includes a “virtual control tower” with screens displaying live camera feeds along the ramp. This will help in low visibility situations and increase awareness.

“There are cameras that allow a controller dealing with a particular aircraft or a particular area of ​​the airport to zoom in and out to look at the area of ​​interest,” ADB Safegate project manager Taha Zahir told media during the tour.

Another ADB Safegate technology will be a parking aid that allows aircraft to dock at a gate in almost any weather condition. Zahir said this would be especially useful during lightning storms, when wingwalkers are evacuated from the tarmac and have to leave fully loaded planes idle just feet from the gate.

The docking system, which can handle anything up to the massive Airbus A380, has already proven its efficiency at existing JFK terminals and many other airports such as LaGuardia and Los Angeles, Zahir said.

Complementing the gate and ramp tower technology is ADB Safegate’s AI-powered apron manager that can predict aircraft on-time performance and improve aircraft turnaround times; This means passengers can get on their way faster than before.

Drawing attention to issues such as refueling and baggage loading, Zahir said, “We have determined 25-30 activities that each flight must go through from arrival to departure.” he said. “We know exactly what happened on the plane.”