On Route to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
New York has three main airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), and LaGuardia Airport (LGA). JFK is the largest and busiest airport in all of New York and is located in the southeastern section of Queens County in NYC, about 15 miles by highway from Midtown Manhattan. It has a total of eight different terminals, 150 gates, and it covers 4,930 acres. You can check out maps of the airport and its terminals on JFK’s website.
Common flights from JFK:
- Los Angeles, California
- San Francisco, California
- London, United Kingdom
- Paris, France
- Frankfurt, Germany
Known airlines that fly from JFK:
- Delta Air Lines
- United Airlines
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Virgin Atlantic
Transport options to JFK include:
- LIRR
- Airport Express Bus
- Subway
- NYC Cabs/Uber/Lyft
LIRR: To JFK the travel time is between 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the chosen route and which terminal you’re travelling from. An example of a route from Penn Station would be taking the Huntington bound LIRR train to Jamaica station. Then take the JFK AirTrain for the remainder of the trip. Cost: $7.25 for a one way off-peak LIRR ticket, $10.00 for a one way peak LIRR ticket, and $5 for a JFK AirTrain ticket.
Airport Express Bus: NYC Airporter is the official express bus operator for those travelling to JFK. The service runs seven days a week from 5 am to 11.30 pm and the travel time to JFK is approximately 1.5 hours. You can board the bus at these Midtown Manhattan locations:
- Grand Central Terminal (41st Street between Lexington Avenue and 3rd Avenue)
- Penn Station (West 33rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues)
- Port Authority Bus Terminal (42nd Street between 8th and 9th Avenues)
Cost: $17 from Manhattan to JFK.
Subway: From Penn Station you can take two different trains, either the E or A line.
- If you’re taking the E line, take it to Sutphin Bld – Archer Av – JFK Airport. Walk 1 minute to Jamaica Station and then take AirTrain JFK Red to the airport. This will take approximately 1 hour.
- If you’re taking the A line from Penn Station and getting off at Howard Beach – JFK Airport. Walk 1 minute to Howard Beach Station, and then take the AirTrain JFK Green to the airport. This will take you approximately 1 hour and 12 minutes.
Cost: $2.75 for a subway ticket with a metro card or $3.00 for a SingleRide ticket, which you can buy at vending machines.
NYC cabs/Uber/Lyft: From Penn Station to JFK it will take approximately 35 minutes without traffic. Cost: $57-74 with Uber (low-cost option), $48 with Lyft, and $52 flat rate with a cab.
