The Airport Community Foundation (ACF) hosts a discussion about the phase one opening of Terminal 6 at JFK Airport.
In 2024, I spoke with Steve Thody, CEO of JFK Millennium Partners (JMP), about the two-phase development of the John F. Kennedy International Airport’s (JFK) new 1.2 million-square-foot Terminal 6. The first phase of the terminal’s redevelopment is ontrack to open its initial gates this year, with full construction slated for completion in 2028.
Terminal 6 (T6) at JFK is a public-private partnership between the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) and JFK Millennium Partners (JMP) – a consortium led by Vantage Group, an industry-leading investor, developer, and manager of award-winning global airport projects, including LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B.
T6 will create an anchor for passenger travel on JFK’s north side, spanning the sites of the former Terminal 6 (demolished in 2011) and the existing Terminal 7. JFK Millennium Partners is managing Terminal 7 until the 54-year-old facility is demolished this year. This will make way for the second phase of T6’s construction, which begins once the new Terminal 6’s first phase opens.
Major milestones have followed the groundbreaking of the new Terminal 6, which was held on February 23, 2023. These include the October 2024 topping-out ceremony, the installation of a massive oculus skylight, and the securing of significant green bonds. With plans for a shared electric ground support (GSE) fleet, the project is advancing toward its first-phase opening this year, promising a digital-first, sustainable design featuring new gates and world-class art.
This past January, less than two years after our 2024 talk, JMP’s Steve Thody joined an invitation-only fireside chat at The Union at Eisenhower Park. Hosted by the Airport Community Foundation (ACF), he discussed the final stages of the highly anticipated phase one grand opening of the new T6.
About 60 invited Terminal 6 stakeholders attended the luncheon, eager to learn more about the phase one opening in the banquet room of The Union overlooking Eisenhower Park’s expansive, snow-covered golf courses. This venue provided an appropriate setting to discuss embarking on new chapters in air travel, as the surrounding grounds were once known as the Hempstead Plains. Today, they are celebrated as the Cradle of Aviation, where pioneering aviators once took to the skies to advance the technology of flight.
The program was opened by Katie Bliss, President of Aqueous Solutions and an ACF executive board member, followed by a short video about Terminal 6. Katie then introduced Steve Thody and me as the guests and moderator. To encourage interaction, attendees were asked to scan QR codes on either side of the room to access Slido, allowing them to participate in live polls and submit questions at the end of the chat.
Serving as the host and Q&A moderator, I explored the T6 team’s progress with Steve, covering the construction status and key milestones leading to the terminal’s 2026 opening. We also discussed how JFK Millennium Partners intends to set a new standard for travel at JFK Airport, offering a boutique, five-star guest experience when the first gates open this year.
At the opening of the chat, Steve spoke about the T6 team’s collective spirit and the creation of a “North Star” during the terminal’s construction. He noted how this single vision has guided the project from the outset and continues to do so as they prepare to open in the coming months.
“The team at the airport isn’t anything different from a sports team. We have JMP, our commercial team, our facilities management, and maintenance teams. This winter’s storm was an example of how the team rallied together to ensure that Terminal 7 was open the next day and ready for our passengers. We surround ourselves with the expertise of concessions. All these create a team dynamic. Having a North Star to rally around is what’s going to make us successful at T6, and we continue to believe in that,” said Thody.
Discussing The Vantage Group’s 30-year history of global airport transformation, Thody highlighted how their success at JFK depends on resilient partnerships with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and federal agencies. With a three-decade legacy, the team brings vast experience from projects across the Caribbean, Cyprus, South America, and Canada. “There’s a saying, ‘If you’ve seen one airport, you’ve seen one airport.’ None of them are the same, no partners are the same, no operation is the same. We work successfully through our partnerships with the airlines, the vendors in the building, and the agencies that we work with.”
At the forefront of next-generation airports in the United States, T6 will be home to many ‘firsts’
“You’ll hear about a lot of ‘firsts’ today,” noted Steve. He then announced the selection of a guest experience partner for the new T6. “We are working diligently with them on a guest experience program that includes training for everyone at T6. By involving the entire community, we ensure our customer interactions are consistent and deliver a five-star service that anticipates traveler needs. This is a prime example of how we integrate the T6, JMP, and Vantage Airport Group way of working into our everyday operations.”
As a boutique terminal, the design of the brand-new infrastructure is light and airy, de-stressing the customer journey, all while minimizing walk times. Alongside that, a notable first is that Terminal 6 will be physically connected to JFK Terminal 5 upon its opening. This seamless connection to JetBlue’s home at T5 will provide additional gates and expand the airline’s capacity for new flights, destinations, and partner connections. Additionally, the new T5 exit roadway, recently opened, now features its own direct path above the Terminal 6 construction site, facilitating a quicker exit from JFK. Better yet, while the terminals are connected, each will have its own dedicated roadway when T6 opens later this spring.
Another groundbreaking first, not only at JFK but at any airport in the U.S., is the integration of an EGSE (all-electric ground service equipment) pooling operation model developed with Fortbrand. Founded in 1983, Fortbrand is a Long Island-based business that has successfully provided ground support equipment (GSE) and solutions to New York airports for decades. Their commitment to optimizing airport operations while ensuring safe, efficient performance has brought Fortbrand and JMP’s T6 team together to establish the first pooled GSE operation in North America.
With a pooling model, there is a common-use fleet of equipment that all handlers, and therefore all airlines, share. T6 will elevate industry standards by prioritizing effective ramp management, greater accountability, sustainability, and high safety standards. To support this effort, JMP worked closely with airline partners to select four ground handling companies that would receive operating permits at T6, including ASAK, dnata, WFS, and Airway.
Because pooling is new to many ground handlers, JMP and Fortbrand have developed a pre-opening program that includes hands-on equipment training, certification, and early system integration. Dedicated testing areas and sample equipment allow teams to familiarize themselves with operations. At the same time, system access and SIDA badge authorizations are established well before day one to ensure a secure, smooth launch.
Ensuring a 5-Star Experience – Community, Technology, Advanced Preparation
Attending T6 partners were polled about what they believe will create a 5-star guest experience and passenger journey at the new T6. The leading responses included: the T6 community; the new hybrid self-service baggage drop machines; a world-class New York-inspired concessions program; and a 5-minute walk to the gates.
Regarding the T6 community, Steve Thody emphasized that success requires a collective effort: “We can’t do this as an individual company.” He noted that the Terminal 6 project depends on more than just a building — it depends on people. “To ensure a five-star guest experience, the corporate team’s vision, grounded in Vantage Group’s global expertise, will require consistent attention to detail from all partners in order to achieve their ambitious, world-class service goals.”
Advanced Technology Will Enhance Both Passenger & Employee Experiences
In speaking about self-service bag drops, Thody said, “We made a decision very early on to actually take out all the standard check-in desks at T6, and we replaced them all with 100% self-service hybrid bag drops (SSBD). So, we can now flex between the standard check-in or a SSBD check-in. What that will do is ‘future-proof us as people change their travel habits.” Steve then explained how biometrics can be activated at bag drops so that a passenger’s face is matched to their passport or driver’s license, adding, “We can start to look at biometrics for TSA, and biometrics that will be available at all the gates.”
While Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been pushing biometrics as a standard, JMP conducted a test run years ago at British Airways in Terminal 7, where boarding a 747 was 15 to 20 minutes faster. “It was surprising to see how unlocking the technology allowed agents at the gate to focus on problems while letting everyone else board quickly. It sped up the process and improved the guest experience — that’s what technology should be for.”
For the next phase of the behind-the-scenes employee experience at T6, JMP/Vantage has been working with a company called Opfyx, which will be a game-changer for terminal operations. Opfyx is designed as a T6 community platform that allows all stakeholders to access live maps, operational updates, flight times, and baggage info, while also enabling management to broadcast messages. “Eventually, we will be morphing into how we collect data and provide an AI overlay on that platform so that we’ll be able to have real-time information and predicted information. If you’re an airline, you’ll see all of your flights; if you’re a ground handler, you’ll see all the activity you’re handling. This is designed to make the experience as seamless as possible, and keep the entire T6 community connected.”
The elements supporting a smooth and secure launch of T6 include ongoing staff orientations and ORAT (Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer) trials. ORAT is a structured risk-mitigation process that ensures new or renovated airport infrastructure is fully operational, staff are trained, and systems are tested before opening. It bridges construction and operations by coordinating stakeholders, conducting trials, such as baggage and security, and facilitating a seamless transition to the new facility. “There’s a whole plan around the launch of T6, which will start to activate in the months ahead of the opening. But in terms of the operational readiness and testing, all of the teams at the moment are working with their vendors, especially facilities,” said Thody. From an orientation perspective, in preparation for the opening, everyone who works in the building will need to walk the facility and know where the security checkpoints are and how to navigate the corridors.
As the Port Authority has partnered with JMP, they have been working together on a dedicated process for PONYA plating GSE equipment and badging as they begin to bring in more staff, especially on the concessions side. “We’ve been talking to all new concessionaires about new staffing and how to get the staffing pushed through a more dedicated process from a badging perspective, to get them up and running,” said Thody, adding. “There’s lots of different work streams on getting us ready. Keep an eye out, as at some point close to going live, we will have a live trial date. Friends and family will be coming along so that you can bring them and walk around the building, acting as passengers. You will get a fake badge, check in, go through security, and basically help us test the entire building.”
T6 In the Community
Many community organizations and local businesses, along with commercial partners such as dining and retail concessionaires and guest service providers, will benefit Queens and the wider region. The initiative is strongly linked with the Community Advisory Council (CAC), chaired by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Congressman Gregory Meeks. The CAC was set up in conjunction with the Port Authority as an oversight committee to ensure that, as the $19 Billion project develops at JFK Airport, whether funded directly by the Port Authority or by JMP/Vantage, it promotes local and MWBE-owned businesses. “In the immediate future, we plan to organize a T6 job fair where all our partners can participate and facilitate direct connections to local talent,” emphasized Thody.
Additionally, JMP is actively engaged with local academic partners, where their HR team recently met with leadership at York and Vaughn Colleges to connect directly with students and recent graduates.
The Future of Terminal 7
Planning for Terminal 7’s demolition is already underway, and it will be torn down as soon as possible, as it stands in the way of phase two. The project goal is to apply circularity principles to repurpose as many materials as possible. JMP is currently salvaging equipment from T7, including jet bridges, hold-room seating, kitchen equipment, furniture, and other smaller fixtures. Moreover, once the structure is demolished, the plan is to recycle nearly all construction waste. At this time, in Terminal 6, more than 95% of construction waste has been recycled, and the aim is to achieve the same for T7.
Regarding a timeline, the original aggressive schedule for late last year was pushed to February and is now set for Spring 2026. “The reality is that putting the power into the building took a lot longer. It was delayed, partly because of some redesign and changes that needed to be made,” explained Thody. “That has now put us on the back foot for some of the systems testing of the fire alarms, the IT systems.” Currently, JMP is working with its building firm, where its workforce is working multiple shifts to maintain the Spring timeframe.
Milestones Met and Still to Achieve
“For those who haven’t been on site, at TSA, all the equipment is in and is basically in place during testing, so that by approximately February 10, it will be fully tested and ready to go. The baggage system has been done for a while. TSA sent in their SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) in December, and they did about two-thirds of their testing, whereas they will need to finish the testing in March and certify the system for April. We’re also working on the CBP area to try to get their space handed over. Finishes on the building are coming along really well. So, a lot of this is down to testing of the systems. ” said Thody.
In wrapping up our discussion, I asked Steve what three words he would use to describe the new Terminal 6 and he replied:
- “Boutique is the first that springs to mind. While T6 won’t be the largest terminal at JFK, it’s probably going to give the best experience for customers from the moment they drive up and walk all the way through to Departures—and again, through Arrivals, through CBP, or domestic arrivals and back out. The terminal will have a large plaza so that when a passenger arrives, they’re not walking out of the building and stepping onto a road. There will be greenery and seats, and during the spring and summer, you will be able to sit outside, wait in comfort, and soak in some sunlight.”
- “World-Class. I do think we’ll deliver a world-class terminal and world-class experience, and the way we will do that is with everyone in this room.”
- “Community. We talked about the T6 community. It’s probably one of the biggest things that I think about. We talk about the leadership and how we bring everyone together to deliver this world-class, boutique terminal.”
Afterwards, there was a Q&A session, where someone in the audience asked, ‘What are you most excited about for T6?’ He paused for a moment and answered, ‘I can’t wait to see the first passenger who arrives on a plane and enters the building. There’s a story peers at LaGuardia tell about the first passengers to arrive at Terminal B, where United, Southwest, and Air Canada operate. When that flight arrived, the first few passengers got off the plane, looked around, and said, “Sorry… where are we?”
The story was received with laughter, before Steve concluded with, “So, I think seeing people’s faces as they arrive at the new Terminal 6—especially domestic arrivals entering this big, light, airy concourse—and seeing their expressions as they interact with the space will be great. It’s the same for departing passengers at TSA; when they first lay eyes on the Grand Hall or the East Concourse, it’s quite a moment.”
After the Q & A and thanks to the generosity of the T6 airport community and sponsors, the non-profit Airport Community Foundation (ACF), which hosted the luncheon, raised over $11,000 in donations, which were presented to Vaughn College of Aeronautics, CUNY Aviation Institute at York College, and the newly formed Women Inspiring Nex-Gen Stars (WINGS) at JFK.
Following the close of the program and chat, the warmth and camaraderie in the room between the T6 community who attended the luncheon were palpable. Afterward, all were invited to go upstairs to the Union’s cigar bar to cap off the informative afternoon.
