John F. Kennedy International (JFK) is one of the most-connected airports in North America, with over 200 non-stop destinations spanning every inhabited continent. It's the largest international gateway to the United States and a major hub for Delta, JetBlue, American, and Alaska, plus the home base for many foreign-flag carriers serving New York.
What makes JFK distinct
Diversity. Unlike the typical American hub dominated by one carrier, JFK has serious presence from multiple airlines and alliances. Long-haul international service is unusually deep — direct flights to secondary cities in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that don't exist from most other US airports.
Terminals at a glance
- Terminal 1 — Air France, Korean Air, Lufthansa, and several other foreign-flag carriers.
- Terminal 4 — Delta's international operations and SkyTeam partners. The largest terminal.
- Terminal 5 — JetBlue's flagship terminal, with an attached connection to Terminal 4 via AirTrain.
- Terminal 7 — British Airways and a handful of others (being phased out gradually).
- Terminal 8 — American Airlines and oneworld partners.
Honest connection advice
JFK has no central terminal complex — connections often require the AirTrain, which adds 15–20 minutes plus a security re-check. Allow 2 hours for inter-terminal international connections, especially if customs/immigration is involved on entry. Domestic-to-international within the same terminal can be done in 90 minutes.
Getting to the city
The AirTrain connects to the LIRR (fast, ~35 minutes to Penn Station) and the subway (cheap, ~60 minutes to Manhattan). Skip yellow cabs at peak times — traffic to Manhattan from JFK can take 90+ minutes. The subway is often the more reliable option.