You can take most Long Island Rail Road lines to the LIRR Jamaica Station. There, you'lll find an in-station link to th AirTrain platform. At Jamaica, the AirTrains depart for JFK about every 4-10 minutes. Expect your ride to take about 10 minutes from the Jamaica LIRR station to JFK airport. See Long Island Rail Road Schedules and Fares.
The Airtrain JFK links the Howard Beach A subway and the Sutphin Boulevard E, J and Z subway stations and the Long Island Rail Road's Jamaica station with JFK airport. The trip is about 15 minutes from the LIRR Jamaica station, and it will take about one hour from most parts of New York City. Best of all, you don't have to worry about traffic and the AirTrain runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Visit the MTA's site for a New York City subway map.
If you're traveling on a weekend, purchase a discounted City Ticket on the Long Island Rail Road to get to the Jamaica station for your AirTrain connection.
IF you're traveling from the Howard Beach subway station, the A train stops there about every 5-10 minutes during rush hour and about every 15-20 minutes during the evening and on weekends. The AirTrain JFK stops at the Howard Beach station approximately every 5-10 minutes.
Many subway lines connect to the A train, but make sure you board an A train marked "Far Rockaway and not "Lefferts Boulevard." Expect your ride from the Howard Beach station to JFK airport to take about 10 minautes.
From the Sutphin Boulevard E, J and Z station in Jamaica, you can connect to the AirTrain Jamaica stop. E, J and Z subways run about every 5-10 minutes during rush hour and approximately every 8-12 minutes at night and on weekends. The AirTrain departs from the Jamaica station to JFK airport every 5-10 minutes, and you can expect your ride to be about 10 minutes to JFK.
Alternately, you can take buses to JFK airport from Manhattan or Queens.
For more AirTrain JFK information, call (877)JFK-AirTrain (535-2478).
Getting to JFK airport by car from Long Island:
Always allow ample time to get to JFK airport from Long Island. This is one of the busiest airports in the world, and there is often traffic driving to and from JFK airport.
- From the Southern State Parkway:
To get to JFK airport by car from Long Island, take the Southern State Parkway going west. It becomes the Belt Parkway. Take to exit 20. You'll merge onto the JFK Expressway towards JFK airport. (Stay on your left to stay on the JFK Expressway.) - From the Long Island Expressway::
Take the Long Island Expressway (LIE) west to the Cross Island Parkway, continue to Belt Parkway, and then take exit 20. You'll merge onto the JFK Expressway towards JFK airport. (Stay on your left to stay on the JFK Expressway.) - Map of the JFK airport area from Google Maps
- JFK airport map, featuring numbers of airline terminals
- Parking at JFK airport or call their continuously updated hotline to inquire about parking availability at (718) 244-4080.
- List of airlines at JFK airport and the numbers of their terminals
JFK Flight Status and Terminals
- JFK airport arrivals status -- all airlines. Just enter the flight number or airline in the search box.
- JFK airport departures status -- all airlines. Just enter the flight number or airline in the search box.
