John F. Kennedy International Airport
Address: Queens, NY 11430, United States
Phone: +1 718-244-4444
IATA airport code: JFK
Elevation: 14 ft
Number of runways: 4
Airport feedback: Feedback
JFK Arrivals today
About John F. Kennedy International Airport Arrivals
John F. Kennedy International Airport is New York’s busiest and largest airport. The other airports in New York are Newark and LaGuardia. JFK airport is located southeast of Manhattan. There are 6 terminals at this large airport with 128 gates to process all the JFK arrivals. The terminal names run up to Terminal 8 because some were demolished in the past. At most terminals, the arrivals hall is at lower level and the departure hall and gates at upper level. The terminals are connected to each other via an AirTrain.
Busiest flight routes 2022
Airport map
History of JFK Airport
John F. Kennedy Airport started under a different name in the earlier years. It started as Idlewild (IDL). This airfield was built after LaGuardia became too crowded in 1939. Final construction began in 1943 with limited territory. This was expanded during construction. The owner has since been Port Authority of New York to this day. The final opening of the airport was in 1948 and began with the name New York International Airport as its official name. The first flights were carried out directly in the same year. All international flights were moved from LaGuardia to this airport. Within a year there was already a significant expansion of the terminal from 80 to 215 square feet. The expansions continued in the following years, including a control tower and taxiways.
John F. Kennedy Airport started under a different name in the earlier years. It started as Idlewild (IDL). This airfield was built after LaGuardia became too crowded in 1939. Final construction began in 1943 with limited territory. This was expanded during construction. The owner has since been Port Authority of New York to this day. The final opening of the airport was in 1948 and began with the name New York International Airport as its official name. The first flights were carried out directly in the same year. All international flights were moved from LaGuardia to this airport. Within a year there was already a significant expansion of the terminal from 80 to 215 square feet. The expansions continued in the following years, including a control tower and taxiways.
In 1954 the airport, still popularly known as ‘Idlewild’, had the most international traffic in the world. This meant that additional terminals had to be built. An idea came up to give every major airline its own terminal, excluding a general and international terminal. The international terminal was first completed to welcome JFK arrivals in 1957. This terminal was later demolished in the 1990’s and replaced by the current terminal 4. Some airlines that got their own or combined terminal were United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Airlines, and American Airlines. All these terminals were eventually replaced to some current terminals at John F. Kennedy Airport.
The airport didn’t get its current name, John F. Kennedy International Airport, until 1963 after the assassination of the president. The airport continued to grow with more than 400,000 airline operations per year. It thus became the second-busiest airport in the US. In the years before 2003 there was a direct train connection. The AirTrain people mover system took over that year.
In recent decades there have not been many adjustments at the airport. However, international plane routes were busy with JFK airport arrivals from Europe with the Airbus A380 with Lufthansa, Air France and Singapore Airlines. Etihad and Emirates also flew this large type of aircraft to JFK airport.
Reconstructions for the airfield are planned. It doesn’t rank that high in the best airports in the world. The experience had to increase along with the amount of flights and passengers. There were plans to replace or renew terminals. The first renovations started in 2020 and it is expected to be completed in 2026.
Ground transportation JFK airport
- You could travel by train to the airport. All New York John F. Kennedy arrivals arrive at the AirTrain which is at Long Island Rail Road. The AirTrain will then take you to the terminal where you need to be.
- A similar way is to travel by subway which also arrives at the AirTrain to travel further to the terminal. This option of travel is the cheapest (USD 8) and takes 60-90 minutes. You can reach a connection of the AirTrain with A subway line or E, J and Z subway lines.
- There are also many bus connections. New York John F. Kennedy airport arrivals are at Terminal 5. Bus options: B15 (Brooklyn), Q3 (Queens), Q10 (Kew Gardens and Ozone Parks), Q6 (Jamaica), Q7 (East New York).
- The taxi is a simple and fast (unless traffic) way to arrive at the airport. The price will be approximately USD 50 from downtown Manhattan. If you need to get from one New York airport to another, there is a special shuttle bus or taxis for that.
- There are also Cell Phone Lots to drop off or pick up friends or family. These are located on the Van Wyck expressway and JFK expressway.
- There are also Kiss & Fly JFK airport arrivals at JFK Howard Beach Station where the AirTrain is located.
- Another option is to rent a car after JFK flight arrivals. There are many rental car counters after baggage claim in JFK arrivals hall of each terminal. The car can be picked up after ordering at Federal Circle Station, which is easily accessible by AirTrain.
Direction to city center of Manhattan: travel with this route to the upper west side of Manhattan. Enter I-678 N from 130th Pl 3 min. Continue on I-678 N. Take Grand Central Pkwy and I-278 E to FDR Dr in Manhattan. Take Exit 14 from the FDR Dr 24 min. Follow the E 97th St and 97th St Transverse to the Central Park West
Available runways
There are 4 runways of different lengths in the Cat. 1, 2, and 3. The longest is 14,500 feet and the shortest is 8,400 feet. At the longest runway, the JFK airport arrivals can take place by the largest aircraft in the world like the Airbus A380.
Passenger statistics and flight routes JFK Airport
There were 456,060 John F. Kennedy arrivals in the past year. This ensured that 62,551,072 passengers made use of the airport. There is also 1.4 tons of cargo and mail every year. Due to corona, the market share of domestic flights is largest. Airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue together provide 89 percent of all flights. In addition, most JFK Arrivals are coming from the cities:
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- Boston Logan
- Charlotte Douglas
- Raleigh Durham
- Orlando
- Fort Lauderdale
- Miami
- Atlanta-Hartsfield
Looking at the figures for international flights, London-Heathrow is head and shoulders above the rest. There were many arrivals with American, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Delta with a total of 3 million passengers in 2019. Other frequent routes are:
- Paris-CDG
- Mexico City
- Santo Domino
- Santiago de los Caballeros
- San Juan Puerto Rico
- Amsterdam
- Milan
- Madrid
- Frankfurt
- Seoul
Corona
Due to corona, the fall in passengers who use the airport every year is big. From more than 62 million back to 16 million passengers in 2020. This will hopefully increase again in 2021, with many international routes returning to JFK Airport.
Hotels
There are no hotels on the airport grounds. There are several hotels available within a distance of two miles.
- Hilton Garden Inn Queens/JFK Airport
- Crowne Plaza Jfk Airport New York City, an IHG Hotel (free airport shuttle)
- Radisson Hotel JFK Airport
- Fairfield Inn by Marriott New York JFK Airport (free airport shuttle)
- Courtyard by Marriott New York JFK Airport (free airport shuttle)
- Hampton Inn NY-JFK (free airport shuttle)
- Hilton New York JFK Airport (free airport shuttle)