Kennedy Airport…

John F. Kennedy International Airport is located in Queens in the south-eastern portion of New York City . JFK is the top international air passenger gateway to the United States and is also the leading freight gateway to the country by value of shipments. It is the home airport for Jet Blue Airways, Delta Airlines and a major secondary hub for American Airlines. British Airways has a major presence with 9 flights per day. John F. Kennedy International Airport  is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey . Construction of John F. Kennedy International Airport began in 1942 on the site of Idlewild golf course. The golf course provided the airport's original namesake, Idlewild Airport . The airport saw its first commercial flight on July 1, 1948 and it was dedicated as 'New York International Airport on July 31, 1948 .  The airport was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1963, one month after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The airport received the new IATA airport code of JFK, and since then the airport has become widely referred to by this abbreviation. Although the John F. Kennedy   International Airport  is known as the premier international hub for both New York City and the United States , it also handles domestic flights, mostly to the West Coast. In 2005 the airport handled 41 million passengers. John F. Kennedy   International Airport 's outbound international travel accounted for 17% of all U.S. travellers who went overseas in 2004.  In 2000, John F. Kennedy   International Airport 's handled an average of about 50,000 international passengers each day.  Nearly 100 airlines from over 50 countries operate regularly scheduled flights from JFK. John F. Kennedy International Airport  is a major hub for air cargo between the United States and Europe . London , Brussels and Frankfurt are JFK's three top trade routes. The European airports are mostly a link in a global supply chain, however. The top destination markets for cargo flying out of JFK in 2003 were Tokyo , Seoul and London . Similarly, the top origin markets for imports at JFK were Seoul , Hong Kong , and Taipei , with London taking the fourth spot. Some of the cargo imported and exported through JFK includes electrical machinery, woven and knit apparel, medical instruments, footwear, plastics and paper. John F. Kennedy   International Airport  is undergoing a $10.3 billion redevelopment, one of the largest airport reconstruction projects in the world. JFK recently opened a new Terminal One, Terminal Four and Terminal Seven. Construction has begun on a new Terminal Five, while leaving the current landmark building in place. Terminals 8 and 9 are currently undergoing redevelopment as one single terminal. Terminals Eight, Two, and Three are slated for demolition or reconstruction. Currently, estimates predict some $6.6 billion of economic activity and 207,000 jobs in the New York metropolitan region thanks to the John F. Kennedy   International Airport . John F. Kennedy International Airport is connected to New York 's subway and commuter rail system by the recently-constructed AirTrain. AirTrain stops at all terminals, car rental lots, and two subway stations. It is free within the airport, but the fare is $5 to reach the subway stations. Various city buses connect to the New York City Subway and Long Island Railroad, with free transfers provided for Subway connections. New York City 's yellow cabs offer a flat rate service of $45 from  John F. Kennedy International   Airport to Manhattan , excluding tips and tolls. This flat rate is in effect only inbound to Manhattan from the airport; from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport , taxi passengers pay the metered rate. The fastest mode of travel between lower Manhattan and the John F. Kennedy International Airport  airport is with US Helicopter which has scheduled helicopter flights every hour from the Downtown Manhattan Helioport. The flights last 8 minutes and costs $159 each way. Included in the price is the luxury of avoiding long security screening lines at the airport. Passengers travelling by helicopter pass through X-ray and bomb-detection machines at a security checkpoint operated at the heliport.