July 22, 2008
Free JFK AirTrain rides on Friday to mark airport's 60th
 JFK’s AirTrain will operate entirely free on charge on Friday, July 25, to celebrate the airport’s 60th birthday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced in a press release.
AirTrain rides between terminals, parking and rental car lots are always free, but a $5 charge kicks in (except this Friday) when you stay on to connect to the NYC subway system or the Long Island Rail Road.
A bit more JFK Airport history from the press release:The first passenger arrived at what was then known as New York International Airport on July 9, 1948, on a Peruvian International Airways DC-4 from Santiago, Chile. The airport was dedicated three weeks later, on July 31, 1948, in a ceremony attended by more than 200,000 people, including President Harry S. Truman.
The airport has undergone numerous transformations since then, including a name change in 1963 to honor slain U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Contrary to popular belief, the airport has never had any other official name, although it was commonly referred to as Idlewild.
In the 1960s, the airport became home to several new passenger terminals, including one of the icons of modern American architecture - the TWA Flight Center, designed by renowned architect Eero Saarinen. Rehabilitation work is currently under way in the building, and it is expected to reopen to the public later this year, as is a new passenger terminal under construction directly behind the Saarinen terminal. On August 1, JFK will host the first scheduled flight of the A-380, the largest passenger aircraft in the world, as it arrives at Terminal 4.
There’s also an Airtrain to Newark Airport. But that’s not free Friday.
Earlier: Inside upscale OpenSkies after first landing at JFK
JetBlue on track to reopen Terminal 5 at JFK in fall
July 22, 2008 11:12 AM in Arrivology, Cheap Stuff, History
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