With 62 million annual passengers, 280,000 jobs and more than $17 billion in wages, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) represents a sizable chunk of New York’s local economy and the international aviation network. As JFK transforms itself into a facility for the next generation and prepares to open two new terminals by 2026, there is much work to be done.
The New Terminal One will be solely dedicated to international traffic, with Phase A scheduled to open in June 2026. Terminal Six is slated to open its first gate in 2026, and completion of all 10 international gates is planned for 2028. This $19 billion redevelopment program (including both terminals) is being executed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, through public/private partnerships, and a lot of pressure is riding on its success.
The New Terminal One and its team of consultants, engineers and architects, contractors, construction managers, electricians, technology teams and more must be synchronized to open the New Terminal One on time and on budget. The schedule includes implementation of several new technologies, all of which must work perfectly before the first passenger steps across the facility threshold. That’s where a nearby SITA test facility, recently expanded by AECOM Tishman Construction, figures in.
 facts&figuresProject: Pre-Production Testing CenterLocation: Near John F. Kennedy Int’l Airport, in NYSize: 6,000 sq. ft.Private Financing: Consortium of labor, operating & financial partners, including Ferrovial, JLC Infrastructure, Ullico & CarlyleTimeline: Lab installed in summer 2023, opened in Dec. 2023Design-Build: AECOM TishmanSystems Integrator: SITA Engineer of Record: Faith Group Airside Technology: ADB SAFEGATE Energy Management & Building Network: Schneider Electric Key Project Goals/Benefits: Testing all systems & processes before implementing them in the new terminal |
Faith Group is engineer of record for the design of terminal building technology and security systems, and is the master systems integration program manager under the design build team. Managing Principal Faith Varwig explains that implementing the new and emerging technologies in a pre-production environment allows the owner/operator, designers and construction team members to identify issues early in the delivery process and troubleshoot long before the systems are active in the terminal facility. Using a pre-production center offers several advantages in the software development process, including risk mitigation, optimized performance and alternative options analysis. It also saves time and money, she adds.
“This approach requires a much higher level of data integration and the use of artificial intelligence to support dozens of business processes, all focused on delivering a seamless experience for operators and travelers alike,” Varwig says. “It helps ensure that the new terminal is fully functional and avoids unwelcome surprises.”
Leaders of the New Terminal One project prefer to limit surprises associated with the new facilities to prize giveaways or unexpected reunions for arriving passengers; not technological glitches. That’s why this pre-production center is so important.
Room for Growth
The project design-build team christened the new pre-production center in December 2023, with representatives on hand from New Terminal One, AECOM Tishman Construction, Schneider Electric, Faith Group and SITA. Located near Islip, Long Island, the 6,000-square-foot facility is where technology will be put to the test before being deployed in the new terminal. Testing critical systems such as biometric passenger touchpoints, passenger monitoring, security and airport management systems in advance will be key to a successful kickoff, Varwig emphasizes.
It all starts with New Terminal One and the privately funded consortium created to develop, build and operate it. Ferrovial, a global infrastructure company that operates highway, airport and energy infrastructure, plays a major part in the funding process for the consortium. In June 2022, the company’s Airports Division agreed to acquire nearly all (96%) of the Carlyle Global Infrastructure Fund’s 51% stake in New Terminal One.
Ferrovial has built and managed toll roads in the U.S. and Canada for more than two decades, while also contributing to the development of 36 airports around the world. Notably, it owns a 25% stake in London’s Heathrow Airport (making it the airport’s primary shareholder) along with 50% of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports.
At New Terminal One, Phase A, which is scheduled to open in June 2026, represents a total capital commitment of $9 billion—initially financed with a combination of sponsor equity provided by New Terminal One’s sponsors (Ferrovial, JLC Infrastructure, Ullico and Carlyle) and committed bank loans. No funding was required from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey or local government. The first phase includes arrival and departure halls and the terminal’s first 14 gates. At full completion in 2030, JFK’s New Terminal One will have 23 gates.
Tom Duffy, a consultant with ADB SAFEGATE, says Ferrovial has been fantastic to work with and describes its team as astute, informed and supportive. To the firm’s credit, it pivoted seamlessly with the entire team after the recent pandemic shook up the process and industry like a snow globe.
“During COVID, everything went on hold, and then started over from scratch,” Duffy recalls.
Originally, the master systems integrator idea came up early in the project and ADB SAFEGATE, along with other companies like Schneider Electric and SITA, were slated to work directly for the terminal operator. But after the travel tumult of 2020 played out, the consortium at JFK resumed planning, and technology vendors for the project now work under the design-builder AECOM Tishman.
“All the companies in this master systems integrator alliance are top-notch in their business, and that enables us to avoid the sorts of challenges you might expect to find,” Duffy says.
The Technology
Serge Yonke Nguewo, chief information officer for New Terminal One, says the pre-production lab plays a key role in the commissioning process because it allows staff to get familiar with the systems before they start working in the new facility.
“We want to be a five-star airport, and we want to offer a five-star experience to our passengers,” Nguewo says. “We are working very well with specific and dedicated technologies to pursue that goal. We want to offer passengers a wide range of options with cutting-edge tech that’s ahead of the game.”
Those technologies include state-of-the-art passenger processing systems and an e-gate system that allows passengers to self-board. There is also a new Physical Security Information Management platform that integrates all security into a single platform. The New Terminal One project team elected to deploy a modern software-defined approach for network and service hosting. The infrastructure provides a secure multi-tenant hosting environment that meets stringent cybersecurity requirements and provides a reliable and resilient architecture for all technology, security and overall operational systems across the facility, which are being provided by Schneider Electric.
Varwig says the goal is to create a biometrically-enabled passenger process flow from curb to gate, and vendors have been working very closely with TSA to facilitate that. All 120 counters will have a hybrid self-bag drop system that can work with or without agents—a first in North America, she notes. SITA, the lead systems integrator for the facility, is providing all passenger processing systems and is responsible for roll out of the Airport Operational Database (AODB) that is serving as the integration hub for the entire facility.
“Allowing the airport operations team a chance to get their hands on the technology at an early stage has been crucial,” Nguewo stresses. “It gives us the opportunity to see how it fits together with other stakeholders in the most beneficial way.”
This is the first time ADB SAFEGATE has deployed its entire product portfolio for one greenfield project, says Markus Andersson, a solutions architect for the company. All of its business lines are involved with the new international terminal, from airfield lighting and aircraft docking systems to control tower services. ADB SAFEGATE is also providing virtual ramp control, which relies on live video feeds from the ramp to see and track aircraft.
“At the end of the day, this will easily be the most integrated airport ramp operation in America, and maybe in the entire world,” Duffy says. “When you look at an airport apron, that’s probably the most fragmented area of an airport operation. We’re connecting all these systems for automation and intelligence, and everything will be talking to each other.”
Furthermore, the system is extremely intelligent and engineered for synergy, he adds.
“For the first time, stakeholders will have the same information at the same time,” Duffy explains. “Ultimately, it’s going to create greater efficiency than you’d ever expect to find at an airport apron, along with even greater safety.”
Andersson foresees the ability for vendors to integrate their systems in a more holistic way. With this pre-production center, he says, it’s not someone’s idea on how the ramp should work, but how it truly works in real-time situations.
“We [ADB SAFEGATE} know our systems by heart. SITA knows theirs. Schneider knows theirs,” he says. “By allowing us to come together at such an early stage, we can be fast, efficient and reliable to make sure the systems operate the way they are intended to instead of having that as an afterthought.”
David Rellinger, vice president for Schneider Electric, says the pre-production center is a symbol of the dedication from every stakeholder to make technology a centerpiece of New Terminal One’s success.
“Several years of collaborative planning amongst the design, integration and construction firms for New Terminal One have created a partnership ready to deliver a world-class terminal to JFK Airport and New York City,” Rellinger says. “Schneider Electric is proud to deliver the integrated communications network at New Terminal One that will enable the MSI [Master Systems Integrator] Alliance to bring our clients’ vision for passenger experience, operational efficiency and sustainability to life.”
Starting With the End in Mind
SITA established the pre-production center two decades ago and has continued to update its technologies there ever since. However, this is the first time the space was built out for all partners to live and work until all systems are ready, says Anthony Natale, vice president of Sales and Business Development for SITA. In symphonic accord, all technology parties can help mitigate risk, together.
“Having this test facility means that SITA, ADB SAFEGATE and Schneider can integrate our products in a very controlled manner,” Andersson says. It also allows the individual companies to test their own imaginations and innovations by asking “What if..?”
Varwig recommends starting the testing and commissioning approach very early in the process—ideally, having a team in place the moment schematic design begins.
“I’d say you can’t start early enough,” she comments. “It’s not realistic to start testing when the process is 90% finished and still expect the outcome you want. We’ve taken a lot of tips from what San Francisco International Airport pioneered in starting the integration of testing, commissioning and activation planning at the beginning of the Harvey Milk Terminal 1 project. This mindset, when fully adopted by the integrated delivery team, reduces the inherent risk that comes with delivery of complex building projects.”
Duffy, a 25-year veteran in the airport sector, believes the the JFK New Terminal One project will be extraordinary for how smoothly all of its new technology operates.
“To me, one of the things that is unique about this project is that it’s an [all-international] airport terminal on U.S. soil,” he says. “This airport has to be competitive, productive and safe. All the stakeholders are really focused on a terminal that is not just beautiful, but extremely efficient, too. I’ve never seen an airport in my career that put more thought into how things were going to work on the airside. And for that reason alone, this is going to succeed.”
