“In 1996, Airbus came to us and was describing the plane,” said James Fazio, chief operating officer of JFK International Airport Terminal, the company that operates Terminal 4. “I remember looking at them and thinking, ‘Are they crazy?’ But Airbus persevered and started to push us to make the changes we needed to make.”

At Kennedy, where the runways were laid out in 1948, anticipating the A380 led to a $179 million modernization program. Further changes could raise the cost to about $300 million.

To that end, a major taxiway at Kennedy from the runway to the terminal had to be moved so that the A380’s wings would not hang over the edge and the plane could turn without hitting the terminal.

Another taxiway was built so the A380 could reach Runway 13, one of the longest in the United States. Additional work was done to prevent the A380’s jet blasts from destroying the ground next to the runways.

Airbus has tried to fend off criticism about the A380 requiring costly airport overhauls. It has issued press releases outlining “myths” about the plane and making the case that the A380 will be more efficient in getting passengers on and off and can, for the most part, use existing runways.