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In Pictures: A Look At New York JFK Tower, Inside And Out

Linda Blachly September 29, 2020

New York JFK International Airport tower at sunset

Credit: Joe Pries

The ATC tower at New York JFK International Airport is 320 ft. high and was built in 1992.

Air traffic controller inside the tower

Credit: Joe Pries

View of New York JFK tower from below

Credit: Joe Pries

Air traffic controller’s view from inside the tower

Credit: Joe Pries

Photographer notes: “I used to love coming up to the tower to watch the action. On this particular morning, Kennedy was on the 4's as evidenced by an American 767-300 about to taxi into position on runway 4L. On the IAB hardstand is an El Al 747-400, which arrived earlier in the morning from Tel Aviv.”

The moon rises above the New York JFK tower

Credit: Joe Pries

Air traffic controllers on night shift inside the tower

Credit: Joe Pries

Photographer notes: “I used to love hanging out in the tower at night, watching the landing and takeoff action and taking night shots.”

Morning shift inside the tower

Credit: Joe Pries

Photographer notes: “Sam Kohn (now retired) works 119.1 (tower freq) on a nice VFR morning. Sam was the controller on freq when the first Concorde flew into JFK and he was also on freq when the last Concorde flew out of JFK!”

Illuminated tower stands tall

Credit: Joe Pries

Tower shadow falls on the tarmac

Credit: Joe Pries

Heavy duty weather alert and ATC equipment inside the JFK tower

Credit: Joe Pries

Inside ASDE-X JFK tower

Credit: Joe Pries

Photographer notes: “This is what controllers see (this is a portion of the entire screen at JFK tower) on ASDE-X even if operating in zero/zero visibility. This is the newest technology for ATC. Every airplane on the field's transponder is being picked up by radar and reflected on the screen. If any airport vehicles breach a runway, they will be visible on this screen. Note that areas in red reflect closed taxiways (construction/repair). At the time this photo was taken JFK was operating on the 4's and there was light snow falling (RVR4000).”

Inside ASDE-X full display

Credit: Joe Pries

Photographer notes: “Shown here is the full screen view of ASDE-X display at JFK. At the time runway 4L was used for departures and 4R for arrivals, most of which turn off and hold to cross 4L at taxiway Golf as they proceed to their gate. This is run-of-the-mill stuff for ATC, but for aviation enthusiasts and future air traffic controllers to see what the fine folks at JFK tower look at as they do their job is really neat!”

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John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is located in Queens, New York, and is one of the busiest airports in North America. Its ATC tower stands 320 ft. off the ground, and reported an estimated 356,000 scheduled passenger aircraft movements in 2019. Take a look at this gallery, as it gives you a view of JFK ATC tower from the outside and a peek at the rarely seen inside.

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Linda Blachly

Linda Blachly is Senior Associate Editor for Air Transport World and Aviation Week. She joined the company in July 2010 and is responsible for producing features for Air Transport World’s monthly magazine and engaging content for the aviationweek.com. She is based in the Washington DC office.

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