John F. Kennedy International Airport\u00a0is 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\u00a0has a major presence with 9 flights per day. John F. Kennedy International Airport \u00a0is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey .<\/p>\n
Construction of John F. Kennedy International Airport\u00a0began in 1942 on the site of Idlewild golf course. The golf course provided the airport\u2019s original namesake, Idlewild Airport . The airport saw its first commercial flight on July 1, 1948 and it was dedicated as \u2018New York International Airport<\/em>\u00a0on July 31, 1948 .\u00a0 The airport was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1963, one month after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.\u00a0The airport received the new IATA airport code of JFK, and since then the airport has become widely referred to by this abbreviation.<\/p>\n Although\u00a0the John F. Kennedy \u00a0 International Airport \u00a0is 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.<\/p>\n John F. Kennedy \u00a0 International Airport \u2018s\u00a0outbound international travel accounted for 17% of all U.S. travellers who went overseas in 2004. \u00a0In 2000, John F. Kennedy \u00a0 International Airport \u2018s\u00a0handled an average of about 50,000 international passengers each day.\u00a0 Nearly 100 airlines from over 50 countries operate regularly scheduled flights from JFK.<\/p>\n John F. Kennedy International Airport \u00a0is a major hub for air cargo between the United States and Europe . London , Brussels and Frankfurt are JFK\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n John F. Kennedy \u00a0 International Airport \u00a0is undergoing a $10.3 billion redevelopment, one of the largest airport reconstruction projects in the world.\u00a0JFK 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 \u00a0 International Airport .<\/p>\n John F. Kennedy International Airport is connected to New York \u2018s 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.<\/p>\n