New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
History, Facts and Overview

(New York, New York - NY, USA)

Dating back to 1942, New York John F. Kennedy Airport was an expensive construction project, costing around $60 million. A site was chosen encompassing Idlewild Golf Course and close to Manhattan, covering around 1,000 acres / 400 hectares. When JFK opened in 1947 it was named as the Idlewild Airport and commercial civil flights began in 1948.

It was not long until New York was leading the way in aviation and Idlewild quickly became one of the world's premier airports. Expansion plans soon were underway and a further 4,000 acres / 1,620 hectares were acquired and eight terminals were built. In December 1963, Idlewild was renamed as John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), following President John F. Kennedy's tragic assassination the month before.


Today, Kennedy Airport is home to literally hundreds of services, shops and restaurants, allowing passengers to easily pass the time. A number of food courts can be found in most of the terminals, with over 100 eateries on offer, such as Au Bon Pain, Broadway Brewing, Cibo Express, Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, Panini Express, Sbarro, Starbucks and Wok & Roll. More and more cheap New York flights and package deals are becoming available, thanks to the fierce competition between international airlines.

Onsite at JFK Airport, passengers will be pleased to find over 50 shops, with the most popular including Bulgari, Cartier, Duty Free America, Duty Free International Shoppes, Estee Lauder, New York Dufrey Toy Store, Press Relay News and Swarovski. Also available are outlets of Xpress Spa, and Travelex Travel Insurance and Travelex currency exchanges.