Photo gallery: inside New York's futuristic TWA terminal at JFK

You may think this looks like an airport terminal of the future, but it's actually almost 50 years old.

Located at New York's JFK airport, the TWA Flight Centre was designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962. It shut down when TWA closed its doors in 2001, and since fell into disrepair and sad decay.

Happily, work is now being done to bring this extraordinary building back to life.

New Yorkers caught a tantalising glimpse of this work in progress when the TWA terminal was briefly opened to the public for one day last month.

Our frequently flying friend Cynthia Drescher, managing editor of Jaunted.com, snapped a few of these pics - you'll find plenty more in Jaunted's photo gallery.

The entry to the terminal looks like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

With its sweeping organic lines, little wonder the TWA Flight Center was once called "the Grand Central station of the jet age".

Honestly, this amazing design leaves most modern airports for dead. 

Here are some shots of the terminal during its fading days – you can see how much the clean-up job has improved things and brought the terminal back to bright life.

Still, let's hope the purple lighting is included in the finished refurb!

Don't forget that you can see dozens of snaps from the recent 'open day' over at Jaunted.com.

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.