After almost a decade of failed plans to replace its drab, aging terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Delta Air Lines is pushing ahead with the project once again. The airline is in talks with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to demolish the 1960s-era building and build a new terminal, for which it is hoping to find $1.5 billion in financing, Crain’s reported. That financing is unlikely to come from the state agency, which is already tangled in the expensive effort to rebuild the World Trade Center, but it could come through plane ticket fees that would require approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The Port Authority is the owner of the airport facilities. Delta operates terminals 2, 3 and 4 under a lease agreement. “There’s reasonable speculation that Delta Terminals 2 and 3 would be razed, and a new terminal would be built in its place,” said Henry Harteveldt, an airline analyst with Forrester Research. “When you consider that Delta is competing against American Airlines and JetBlue, both of which have new terminals, Delta and the Port Authority have no choice.” Last month, Delta executives reportedly said at an internal meeting that they were looking to start the demolition of Terminal 3 next summer. [Crain’s]
Delta JFK terminal plans prepare for take off
