The first Concorde landing in the United States was at Washington Dulles on 24 May 1976, AeroTime says. New York was another matter. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs JFK, banned Concorde from the airport on 11 March 1976. Airways Magazine says the ban was first meant to last no more than six months while it studied operations elsewhere, and cited low-frequency vibrations that the airport's noise limit did not capture.

The court fight

Air France and British Airways challenged the ban. AeroTime says they filed a lawsuit on 14 June 1977, arguing it was discriminatory and an undue burden on commerce.

From here the accounts differ on one step. AeroTime says the US Court of Appeals ruled on 6 October 1977 that trial flights could proceed and that the ban was illegal. Airways Magazine instead describes a Second Circuit opinion dated 29 September 1977, which found that revised operating procedures showed Concorde could meet the airport's 112 perceived-noise-decibel standard, and says Justice Thurgood Marshall temporarily stayed that decision on 7 October. I could not reconcile the dates, so I am giving both.

On 17 October 1977 the Supreme Court refused the Port Authority's request. Airways Magazine says the Court denied a request to keep Concorde out of JFK, and describes it as a procedural decision rather than a ruling on the merits. It also says the appeals decision did not exempt Concorde from airport noise rules. Wikipedia's operational history page says the Court declined to overturn the lower court ruling, ending the local ban. AeroTime puts it more bluntly, saying Marshall denied the appeal.

The landing

AeroTime, Wild About Travel and Airways Magazine all give 19 October 1977 for the first landing at JFK. Airways cites UPI reporting in The Daily Iowan. I had been told one source gives 20 October. The Connexion France article I opened gives no day at all, only "40 years ago this week" on its 24 November 2017 date, so I could not confirm that.

AeroTime says the aircraft was the French-registered F-WTSB, and that journalists, spectators and Port Authority staff met it. It also says staff measured its noise and that it passed, since the limit was 112 perceived noise decibels. I found the registration and the measurement in AeroTime only, so treat both as its account.

Wild About Travel says an Air France Concorde landed at 11:08 am after 3 hours 46 minutes from Toulouse. It also names the two pilots who shared the controls. Neither AeroTime nor Airways names anyone, so I am leaving the crew out rather than rely on one page.

Scheduled service

Scheduled service to JFK began on 22 November 1977, with Air France flying from Paris and British Airways from London. AeroTime, Wild About Travel, Airways Magazine and Wikipedia all give that date.

The pictures

I have not found a free-licence photo of the 1977 landing itself, so the photos with this story are period and museum shots. A US National Archives print labelled 21 February 1975 shows an Air France Concorde landing, and its own printed caption says Miami. A Los Angeles Times photo from 25 October 1974 shows a British Airways Concorde with crowds around it at Los Angeles. A Dutch National Archive photo dated 14 August 1982 shows a Concorde landing at Schiphol. The last two show Concorde G-BOAD, on display at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, in photos from December 2010.

Did you ever see one arrive?

Concorde drew crowds, for and against, before it ever carried a paying passenger to New York. If you ever stood at an airport fence to watch one arrive, I would like to hear where.

Sources

  • AeroTime, "On this day: Concorde first landing in New York": https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/24086-concorde-first-landing-new-york
  • Airways Magazine, "The US Supreme Court lifts ban on Concorde": https://www.airwaysmag.com/new-post/us-supreme-court-lifts-ban-concorde
  • Wild About Travel, "40 years ago Concorde touched New York": https://wildabouttravel.boardingarea.com/2017/10/40-years-ago-concorde-touched-new-york/
  • Wikipedia, "Concorde operational history": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde_operational_history
  • Connexion France, "40 years since Concorde's first New York flight": https://www.connexionfrance.com/news/40-years-since-concordes-first-new-york-flight/495753
  • Photos via Wikimedia Commons: US National Archives (public domain), Fitzgerald Whitney / Los Angeles Times (CC BY 4.0), Hans van Dijk / Anefo (CC0), Jorge Láscar (CC BY 2.0)