|
John F. Kennedy International Airport (IATA Airport Code: JFK, ICAO Airport Code:KJFK) is the main international airport in New York City, and is one of the largest airports in the world. It is located in the borough of Queens, straddling Jamaica and Howard Beach on the coast of Jamaica Bay. It is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which also administers LaGuardia Airport and Newark Airport.
JFK is best known as the city's international hub, but flights to other airports in the United States (especially on the West Coast) also use JFK. The airport's prominence in domestic travel has increased since JetBlue Airways made JFK its headquarters in 2000: the airport is also a focus city for American Airlines and Delta Airlines, and a base for United Airlines. In previous years, the airport has been a hub for Pan Am, TWA, Eastern Airlines, National Airlines, Tower Air, and Flying Tigers.
The airport is as much a famous staple of New York City as the Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, Statue of Liberty, and Empire State Building. It was first known as Idlewild airport, as crews began to build it partly on Idlewild Golf Course'. Construction of the airport began in 1942, and at that time, they thought they would only need 1,000 acres to build it: however, as aviation grew, so did Idlewild, and since then, 4,000 more acres have been added.
July 1, 1948 was the date the airport saw its first commercial flight. It was dedicated as New York International Airport on July 31 of that same year, although the name "Idlewild" remained in common use and the airport's IATA code was IDL.
On December 24th, 1963, it was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport to honor the memory of the late President John F. Kennedy, and hence received the new IATA airport code of JFK.
The Beatles were welcomed into the United States in 1964 at this airport, creating a historic moment in time both for music and the airport.
The Concorde SST, operated by Air France and British Airways, provided scheduled trans-Atlantic supersonic service to JFK from 1975 until 2003, when Concorde was retired by both carriers, ending civilian supersonic travel. JFK had the most SST operations annually of any airport in the world.
After the tragedy of the September 11th attack in 2001, JFK was one of the first airports to be temporarily closed.
|
|
