October 29, 2015 by Robin Plaskoff Horton

Photo: Paul Rivera for Gensler via USA Today

Spreading over 24,000 square feet, JetBlue’s new T5 rooftop urban farm offers a lush lounge where the weary airport commuter can breathe and relax after having endured the stress of endless security lines.

The farm gardens in their infancy. Photo: Chelsea Brodsky, JetBlue

Photo: Harriet Baskas via USA Today

Farm-to-Air Experience

It’s not the first airport with an indoor farm: inside the G Terminal at Chicago’s O’Hare there’s an aeroponic garden with a bunch of hydroponic towers that supply some of the terminal restaurants with greens. But JetBlue’s lounge has taken the farm-to-table concept one step further by introducing passengers to “farm-to-air” growing and cooking.

Photo by Tod Seelie, via Gothamist

Beyond the viewing pleasure of lush chlorophyll-filled lawns and well-manicured herb and vegetable gardens, this aeronautic rooftop farm will not only supply fresh-picked produce and herbs to some of the various T5 restaurants, but also on-board JetBlue’s flights.

Photo by Tod Seelie, via Gothamist

High-Flying Potatoes

In-air passengers will get a special taste of T5’s hyper-local ingredients as the urban farm hosts the world’s first blue potato farm, providing the star ingredient for JetBlue’s signature onboard snack, TERRA blue chips.

“Besides providing a green space for customers and crew members, it will help us become even more sustainable,” said Brian Holtman, JetBlue’s manager of concession programs.

Photo: Kevin Hagen, via WSJ

Commuters and crew members alike are encouraged to wander through the garden’s spacious paths to enjoy the magnificent views of both Manhattan and Eero Saarinen’s iconic TWA terminal next door.

Photo: Paul Rivera for Gensler, via USA Today

Wooftop Lounge

And the pre-boarding relief isn’t just for humans. JFK’s newest outdoor lounge is home to the first post-security dog friendly walking area, or “Wooftop” lounge as it’s playfully called by those in the know.

Photo: Harriet Baskas, via USA Today

Any frequent flyer knows that traveling these days is not the fun it used to be. Outdoor spaces like this one at T5 may represent a welcome change. If for only an hour or so, winter-bound passengers and crew members can enjoy fresh air outdoors before being cooped up in an airplane during these last remaining beautiful days before the snow flies.

Photo: Chelsea Brodsky, via JetBlue

If it’s quintessentially New York food one seeks, food carts serving including Hebrew National Hotdogs and Brooklyn’s Blue Marble ice-cream are on site to satisfy the craving. That means a little sunbathing and NewYork-style gastronomy on the outdoor wooden deck and while waiting to board.

If you happen to get a chance to experience the T5 farm, please let us know what it was like and if you (and perhaps Fido) enjoyed your greens.