JFK New Terminal One Phase A: A 2026 Status Update

By Ines Ferreira, Hotels & Lounges Editor · Published 20 May 2026 Updated 1 June 2026

The New Terminal One Phase A opening at JFK International Airport has slipped from the original June 2026 target to at least November 2026 per Bloomberg’s May 15, 2026 reporting and the corresponding Moody’s Ratings outlook revision to negative on JFK NTO LLC, the special-purpose vehicle building and operating the terminal. This is the news-desk status read on where the largest single airport-construction project in the US sits at the mid-2026 mark.

The piece is a project-status update rather than a terminal review. The Plaza Premium status piece in our lounges coverage covers the lounge ecosystem in more detail; this update covers the terminal-level rollout, the airline-confirmation roster, and the project timing.

The opening date slip

The original Phase A opening date target was June 2026. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, in its published project communications at portauthoritybuilds.com through 2025, had targeted a June 2026 opening of the new arrivals hall, the new departures concourse, and the first 14 gates of the new terminal.

Bloomberg reported on May 15, 2026 that Phase A has slipped to “at least November” 2026, citing the Moody’s Ratings outlook revision on JFK NTO LLC from stable to negative. The Moody’s revision is the most-cited single trigger for the slip in the published reporting; the underlying construction-progress drivers have not been publicly itemized by the developer beyond Moody’s published commentary.

The project remains on schedule for the 2030 full-completion target across all of Phase A and Phase B. The Phase A slip is a function of the timing of the first 14 gates coming online rather than a structural delay to the overall project completion.

What Phase A covers

The Phase A scope, per the published Port Authority project pages and the trade-press coverage at The Points Guy, CNBC, and Indian Eagle, is as follows.

14 gates. All 14 gates are widebody-capable, supporting Airbus A350, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 aircraft. Thirteen of the 14 are permanent; one is a temporary gate that will be replaced with a permanent gate in Phase B (the permanent replacement is included in the Phase B nine-gate count). No narrow-body aircraft will operate at the NTO at Phase A opening.

Arrivals hall. A new arrivals processing facility, including the CBP and customs screening for arriving international passengers. The NTO has published a partnership with CBP to “transform the international arrivals experience for U.S. citizens” per the prnewswire.com release; the implementation details have not been fully published.

Departures concourse. A new departures hall with check-in, security screening, retail, and the airside concourse leading to the gates.

Retail, dining, and lounges. More than 300,000 square feet of retail, dining, and lounge space across the completed terminal, with a Phase A allocation that includes the two Plaza Premium lounges (totaling approximately 14,000 square feet) and the airline-operated lounges from the larger long-haul tenants.

The Phase A footprint is constructed on the site of the former Terminals 2 and 3 at JFK. The existing 1998-vintage Terminal 1 will be demolished after Phase A opens, with Phase B constructed on the former Terminal 1 site through the back half of the decade.

The airline roster

The New Terminal One has published partnerships with at least 17 airlines for the full terminal across Phase A and the subsequent phases. Per the Aerospace Global News compilation and the broader trade-press coverage, the named airlines include:

Air France
KLM
Etihad Airways
Korean Air
Turkish Airlines
China Airlines
LOT Polish Airlines
EVA Air
Air Serbia
SAS
Neos
Philippine Airlines
Air New Zealand
Royal Air Maroc
Air China
Gulf Air
Qatar Airways
EGYPTAIR
China Eastern Airlines
Azores Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines
Viva Aerobus
Air Europa

The specific Phase A versus later-phase split for each carrier has not been fully published as a single consolidated source. Per the published trade-press coverage, the Phase A anchor tenants include Air France, China Airlines, Etihad Airways, Korean Air, and Turkish Airlines among at least 15 confirmed Phase A carriers. The roster of airlines that will arrive at the NTO in subsequent phases includes the additional carriers in the consolidated list above.

The airline-roster shift from the existing JFK terminal map to the NTO consolidates the international long-haul operation at JFK Terminal 1 (currently fragmented across Terminals 1, 4, and 7) into the new facility. The largest single beneficiary on the passenger-experience side is the international-long-haul-connecting passenger, who will see a single CBP processing facility, a single retail and dining concourse, and the Plaza Premium lounge ecosystem instead of the fragmented existing experience across multiple terminals.

The Plaza Premium lounge build

The Plaza Premium Group / NTO partnership, announced through the published prnewswire.com release and confirmed across the trade press, covers the two non-airline lounges at the New Terminal One.

The airside Plaza Premium First lounge is approximately 9,300 square feet, located beyond the security checkpoint, and open 24/7 year-round. The lounge is positioned as Plaza Premium’s US flagship and includes the brand’s Infinity Room concept, a la carte dining, and a dedicated bar program. The Infinity Room is the brand’s premium-suite product that has been deployed at selected international Plaza Premium locations including Hong Kong (HKG) and Singapore (SIN).

The landside Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge is approximately 4,200 square feet in the pre-security arrivals hall, oriented to arriving long-haul passengers wanting a shower and refresh before continuing into Manhattan. The arrivals lounge is positioned as one of the few dedicated arrivals lounges in the US (Air Canada Maple Leaf Vancouver and Cathay Pacific The Pier Hong Kong are the most-cited international precedents). The arrivals lounge program includes showers, a compact food-and-bar offering, and a business center.

Combined Plaza Premium footprint is approximately 14,000 square feet across the two lounges. Both lounges are scheduled to open with Phase A; the slippage to November 2026 (or later) applies to both lounges in parallel with the broader Phase A opening date.

The Plaza Premium lounges sit alongside the airline-operated lounges that the larger long-haul tenants are expected to build at the NTO. Korean Air, Turkish Airlines, and Qatar Airways are the most-cited airline-operated lounge candidates for the Phase A and later-phase tenants; the published lounge-build details for the airline lounges have not been fully consolidated as of the publication date.

The competitive context across JFK

The NTO Phase A opening reshapes the JFK lounge and terminal map materially. The current state of the JFK lounge ecosystem, by terminal, is as follows.

Terminal 1 (the existing 1998-vintage terminal that will be demolished after NTO Phase A opens): the existing T1 lounge ecosystem will sunset alongside the terminal demolition.

Terminal 4 continues to operate the most active third-party paid-access lounge market at JFK. The Capital One Lounge at T4 opened on June 19, 2025 at 13,500 square feet, the largest in the Capital One Lounge network and the first Capital One Lounge to operate 24/7. The Chase Sapphire Lounge at T4 opened in 2023-2024 and continues to be the strongest single Sapphire Reserve-included product at the terminal. The AmEx Centurion Lounge at T4 covers the AmEx Platinum and Centurion population. The Delta Sky Club network and the Delta One Lounge serve Delta and SkyTeam partner passengers. The Wingtips Lounge at T4 is the legacy Priority Pass option.

Terminal 5 continues to operate as the JetBlue terminal with the JetBlue Mint Studio premium-passenger lounge and the JetBlue partner lounges.

Terminal 7 is the legacy British Airways terminal, with the One World partners including Iberia, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas. The terminal is in a transitional state ahead of the eventual NTO move-in for the One World partners that have committed to the NTO; British Airways has not committed to the NTO and continues to operate from Terminal 7.

Terminal 8 is the American Airlines terminal, with the AA Flagship First, Flagship lounges, and the One World partner Cathay Pacific Lounge (the only Cathay lounge at JFK on the existing terminal map).

The NTO Phase A opening adds a major new terminal to the JFK map and consolidates the international long-haul carriers that have committed to the NTO into the single facility. The Plaza Premium lounge presence at the NTO is the most-significant new credit-card-and-paid-access lounge addition at JFK since the Capital One T4 opening in June 2025.

The project financing context

The Moody’s Ratings outlook revision to negative on JFK NTO LLC in May 2026 reflects the construction-progress and delivery-timing risk on the largest single airport project in the US. The published project cost of $9.5 billion is consistent across the multi-source reporting; the financing structure relies on a combination of New York and New Jersey state contributions, Port Authority capital, and the developer-equity stack from the NTO LLC ownership group.

The Bloomberg reporting on the Moody’s outlook revision frames the slippage as a near-term timing risk on the developer’s debt-service coverage from the Phase A opening rather than a structural risk to the project completion. The published Port Authority commentary has maintained the 2030 full-completion target across the post-revision communications.

The construction-impact pages at the JFK airport site (construction.jfkairport.com) continue to track the Phase A construction footprint and the demolition of the existing Terminal 2 site through 2026.

What to watch through the rest of 2026

Three items are on the NTO Phase A calendar through the second half of 2026.

The November 2026 (or later) Phase A opening date is the central event. Bloomberg’s May 15, 2026 reporting cited “at least November” as the slipped target; the developer has not committed to a specific revised opening date. The Q3 2026 construction-progress milestone will be the first window for a refined opening-date communication.

The airline move-in sequence is the second item. The 17-plus airlines confirmed for the NTO will not all move in on the Phase A opening day; the published trade-press coverage has identified Air France, China Airlines, Etihad Airways, Korean Air, and Turkish Airlines among the Phase A anchor tenants, but the specific move-in dates and the order of move-ins have not been published as a consolidated source.

The Plaza Premium lounge opening is the third item, alongside the airline-operated lounge openings from the Phase A anchor tenants. Both lounges open with the Phase A terminal; the November 2026 (or later) target applies in parallel.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does JFK New Terminal One Phase A open? Per Bloomberg’s May 15, 2026 reporting and the corresponding Moody’s Ratings outlook revision to negative on JFK NTO LLC, Phase A of the New Terminal One has slipped from the original June 2026 opening target to at least November 2026. Phase A consists of 14 gates on the east side of the new terminal (13 permanent gates plus one temporary gate, all configured for widebody aircraft), a new arrivals hall, and a new departures concourse. The full terminal completion is targeted for 2030; Phase B is scheduled to open in 2030 with nine additional gates plus a permanent replacement for the Phase A temporary gate.

Which airlines will move into NTO Phase A? Per the Aerospace Global News compilation and the broader trade-press coverage, the New Terminal One Phase A airline roster covers at least 17 carriers, with Air France, China Airlines, Etihad Airways, Korean Air, and Turkish Airlines among the named anchor tenants. The broader confirmed-airline list across the full terminal (including airlines that will arrive at Phase A and additional carriers that will arrive in later phases) includes KLM, LOT Polish Airlines, EVA Air, Air Serbia, SAS, Neos, Philippine Airlines, Air New Zealand, Royal Air Maroc, Air China, Gulf Air, Qatar Airways, EGYPTAIR, China Eastern Airlines, Azores Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Viva Aerobus, and Air Europa. The specific Phase A versus later-phase split for each carrier has not been fully published as a single consolidated source.

What lounges will operate in the New Terminal One? Per the published Plaza Premium Group / NTO partnership announcement at portauthoritybuilds.com and prnewswire.com, Plaza Premium Group will operate two independent (non-airline) lounges in the terminal: an approximately 9,300-square-foot airside Plaza Premium First lounge beyond the security checkpoint, open 24/7, with the brand’s Infinity Room concept, a la carte dining, and a dedicated bar; and an approximately 4,200-square-foot landside Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge in the pre-security arrivals hall, oriented to arriving long-haul passengers wanting a shower and refresh before continuing into Manhattan. Combined Plaza Premium footprint is approximately 14,000 square feet across the two spaces. Additional airline-operated lounges are scheduled to open with Phase A from at least the larger long-haul carriers in the terminal.

What is the total New Terminal One project budget and footprint? Per the published Port Authority project pages and the trade-press coverage at CNBC, Construction Owners, and Simple Flying, the New Terminal One is a $9.5 billion redevelopment project. The completed terminal footprint will be approximately 2.6 million square feet, with 23 gates (14 in Phase A and nine in Phase B, plus the permanent replacement for the Phase A temporary gate), more than 300,000 square feet of retail, dining, and lounge space, and a peak passenger capacity that makes the NTO the largest terminal at JFK upon completion in 2030. Phase A is built on the site of the former Terminals 2 and 3; the existing 1998-vintage Terminal 1 will be demolished after Phase A opens, with Phase B built on the former Terminal 1 site.

Frequently asked questions

When does JFK New Terminal One Phase A open?: Per Bloomberg's May 15, 2026 reporting and the corresponding Moody's Ratings outlook revision to negative on JFK NTO LLC, Phase A of the New Terminal One has slipped from the original June 2026 opening target to at least November 2026. Phase A consists of 14 gates on the east side of the new terminal (13 permanent gates plus one temporary gate, all configured for widebody aircraft), a new arrivals hall, and a new departures concourse. The full terminal completion is targeted for 2030; Phase B is scheduled to open in 2030 with nine additional gates plus a permanent replacement for the Phase A temporary gate.
Which airlines will move into NTO Phase A?: Per the Aerospace Global News compilation and the broader trade-press coverage, the New Terminal One Phase A airline roster covers at least 17 carriers, with Air France, China Airlines, Etihad Airways, Korean Air, and Turkish Airlines among the named anchor tenants. The broader confirmed-airline list across the full terminal (including airlines that will arrive at Phase A and additional carriers that will arrive in later phases) includes KLM, LOT Polish Airlines, EVA Air, Air Serbia, SAS, Neos, Philippine Airlines, Air New Zealand, Royal Air Maroc, Air China, Gulf Air, Qatar Airways, EGYPTAIR, China Eastern Airlines, Azores Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Viva Aerobus, and Air Europa. The specific Phase A versus later-phase split for each carrier has not been fully published as a single consolidated source.
What lounges will operate in the New Terminal One?: Per the published Plaza Premium Group / NTO partnership announcement at portauthoritybuilds.com and prnewswire.com, Plaza Premium Group will operate two independent (non-airline) lounges in the terminal: an approximately 9,300-square-foot airside Plaza Premium First lounge beyond the security checkpoint, open 24/7, with the brand's Infinity Room concept, a la carte dining, and a dedicated bar; and an approximately 4,200-square-foot landside Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge in the pre-security arrivals hall, oriented to arriving long-haul passengers wanting a shower and refresh before continuing into Manhattan. Combined Plaza Premium footprint is approximately 14,000 square feet across the two spaces. Additional airline-operated lounges are scheduled to open with Phase A from at least the larger long-haul carriers in the terminal.
What is the total New Terminal One project budget and footprint?: Per the published Port Authority project pages and the trade-press coverage at CNBC, Construction Owners, and Simple Flying, the New Terminal One is a $9.5 billion redevelopment project. The completed terminal footprint will be approximately 2.6 million square feet, with 23 gates (14 in Phase A and nine in Phase B, plus the permanent replacement for the Phase A temporary gate), more than 300,000 square feet of retail, dining, and lounge space, and a peak passenger capacity that makes the NTO the largest terminal at JFK upon completion in 2030. Phase A is built on the site of the former Terminals 2 and 3; the existing 1998-vintage Terminal 1 will be demolished after Phase A opens, with Phase B built on the former Terminal 1 site.