Originally Posted by
tsquare
Actually, there is a TON of real estate available there. There are lots of old maintenance hangars that are one bulldozer away from the ground. And it wouldn't take a particularly skilled operator to do that either. Take a good look around next time you are there, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
One of the options looked at would have done exactly that. The new terminal would have gone in on the North side of the airport where cargo is now handled. The check in area would have been Jet Blue's old terminal. Once you checked in there would have been trains under 13l/31R to get you to the main termainal. I think the idea was dropped because the cost of the tunnels would have been huge. JFK is built on reclaimed marshland. Not easy to tunnel in. The cargo area's don't have the roads and infrastructure for a terminal and check in area.