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New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

The most important airport in New York is also the largest in the United States. More than 40 million passengers use John F. Kennedy Airport each year, mostly called JFK for short. Two other airports around New York (La Guardia and Newark) process another 60 million passengers together, which brings the total number of air travelers in the region of New York to 100 million per year.

JFK has nine terminals, but Terminal 5 is closed for renovations at this time. JFK invested more than 10 billion dollars in renovating the airport. Terminals 1, 4 and 7 are already renovated.

Local transport

Train

The AirTrain JFK concludes in the station Howard Beach on metro line A. There is also a connection with the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in Jamaica Station. Moreover, you can change over to local busses there.

Car and bus

The airport is 24 kilometers southeast of Manhattan, the heart of New York. The airport is along the Van Wyck Expressway (I-678). To reach Manhattan you follow this road to the north to the intersection with I-495 (Long Island Expressway). There you follow in the direction Eastern Long Is/Manhattan. Exit 17W brings you to I-278 that leads through the Williamsburg Bridge to the centre of Manhattan.

The New York Airport Express Bus Service maintains a direct connection with the central bus station in New York (Port Authority Bus Terminal), the Grand Central Station (train station) and Penn Station (metro station). Regular city busses also connect the airport to several destinations in New York, and furthermore there are long distance busses to several places in Long Island, Westchester, Upstate, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

You can also choose the Super Shuttle Manhattan, a bus that goes to every destination in Manhattan and you take off from the door.

Car rental New York JFK Airport

In all Arrival Hall there are counters for the car rental companies Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz and National. You can also reserve a rental car in advance using the service EasyTerra provides. They compare the rates of several providers in a single quote.

Taxi

Many ‘yellow cabs’ are in front of the Arrival Halls (tel: +1(0)212 692 8294). There is a fixed rated of $45 (2007) charged for a ride to and from Manhattan.

Limousines with a driver can be reserved through Classic Limousine (tel: +1(0)631 567 5100) and Tel Aviv Car and Limousine Service (tel: +1(0)212 777 7777).

Airport Parking

There are parking areas and/or garages in front of each terminal. For the first hour you pay $3 per hour with a maximum of $30 per day. The area for long term parking is 6.5 kilometers from the terminals, along Lefferts Boulevard. There you pay $15 for the first day, then $5 for each eight hours of parking. Take into account that it takes you 30 minutes to get from the long term parking to the terminals. For more information about parking at JFK call tel: +1(0)718 244 4168.

Services

Hotels

There is one hotel established at the airport: Ramada Plaza Hotel (tel: +1(0)718 995 9000). There are many other hotels in the vicinity of the airport, including Best Western JFK Airport (tel: +1(0)718 977 2100), Comfort Inn JFK (tel: +1(0)718 977 0001), Holiday Inn JFK (tel: +1(0)718 659 0200), Hilton Garden Inn (tel: +1(0)718 322 4448) and JFK Courtyard by Marriott (tel: +1(0)718 848 2121). These and other hotels have a free shuttle bus connection with the airport. In all Arrival Halls there are counters for hotel reservations. For more hotels and reserving online you can go to Booking.com. They have a large offering of hotels with great internet rates.

Shops and restaurants

There is an enormous offering of shops and eating and drinking places at JFK Airport. If you cannot find what you are looking for you can always take the AirTran to another terminal. Keep in mind that the total travel time along the terminals amounts to eight minutes.

Baggage

For lost and found items you can call tel: +1(0)718 244 4225.

There are two places where you can store baggage: in the Arrivals Hall of Terminal 1 (tel:+1(0)718 751 2947) and in the Arrivals Hall of Terminal 4 (tel: +1(0)718 751 4020). Depending on the size of your baggage it costs $4 to $16 per day.

Information

In all terminals there are kiosks from Traveler’s Aid where you can get information about the airport and assistance with for example your airline ticket or a lost passport. The main office of Traveler’s Aid (tel: +1(0)718 646 4870) can be found in the Arrivals hall of Terminal 6. There are also general information counters from the airport. The personnel are recognizable in their red jackets.

In the baggage halls you can find information counters about public transportation.

Business

In all terminals there are facilities such as fax, computers with internet and courier services. The Ramada Plaza Hotel (see Hotels) offers extensive business services. This hotel has flexible dividable meeting and conference rooms for 50 to 600 persons.

Handicapped persons

The airport is accessible for handicapped persons. There are wheelchair ramps and adapted elevators and restrooms. In all terminals there are text telephones available. In the parking garages there are places reserved for handicapped travelers where they can park their car with a reduced rate. You can also reserve one of those places through Five Star Parking (tel: +1(0)718 244 4168).

Other services

In all terminals there are banks, money exchange offices and cash machines. There is a fully equipped post office (tel: +1(0)718 995 3368) in Building 250 on North Boundary Road. In the Arrivals Hall of Terminal 3 you can rent a mobile telephone. The medical centre is in Building 198, and you can call for First Aid at one of the service counters or through tel: +1(0)718 656 5344.

Contact

Address

John F Kennedy International Airport
Building 14
Jamaica
New York 11430
United States of America

Telephone, fax, email

Telephone: +1(0)718 244 4444
E-mail: through the contact form

Airport codes

IATA airport codes: JFK
ICAO airport code: KJFK

Websites

• Website New York JFK Airport
• Arrival times
• Departure times

PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- The Mets were supposed to be in the air by now. So was I. But we're all stuck here on the tarmac because of a ground stop that is delaying all flights to New York. Something to do with the weather, the captain says.

Of course, I'm on a commercial flight, not the team charter. But from my window, I can see the Mets' plane in the middle of the tarmac. Players got off the buses and boarded, and the buses are gone. But the plane is still there.

It'll be interesting to see if the Mets get special treatment from air traffic control. A source vaguely familiar with the situation (the flight attendant on my plane) tells me the Mets are stuck in the same delay that we are.

So we wait, stuck in Florida for who knows how much longer.

UPDATE, 7:23 p.m.: Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said the team has been told its flight can take off at 8:13 p.m. No such luck for the commoners over here on this flight. I will continue this important live blog until the Mets take off or until my laptop battery conks out.

UPDATE, 7:59 p.m.: The stairway is still set up alongside the Mets' plane. A couple guys are standing outside at the top of the stairs, but I can't make out who they are. I'd love to be a fly on the wall on that plane right now. You have to understand, as much as these guys are used to traveling and the hassles that sometimes come with it, this is no normal flight. Pitchers and catchers reported to camp a month and a half ago, and some players arrived even earlier -- the first week of February -- to start working out. Some left for the World Baseball Classic, some stayed, but all are eager to get out of Florida, get back to New York and move into Citi Field Friday. Jerry Manuel wasn't joking when he said Wednesday that he wanted Thursday's Grapefruit League finale against the Baltimore Orioles to be a quick game so the team could get out of here as soon as possible. And now they're stuck, for at least a little while longer.

UPDATE, 8:05 p.m.: The Mets are now taxiing to the runway.

UPDATE, 8:11 p.m.: We have lift off -- I think. All I know is the Mets' plane is gone and mine is still here. But you've probably heard all you care to hear about that.

Noah K. Murray/The Star-LedgerFrancisco Rodriguez reacts after striking out the last batter to close out a 4-3 Mets exhibition win over the Boston Red Sox in brand-new Citi Field.

NEW YORK -- There were hard-hat construction workers outside and scattered "wet paint" signs inside. Fans wandered the concourses and players roamed the clubhouse, all still trying to find their way around the new ballpark.

In almost every respect, the Mets' exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox Friday was more of a dress rehearsal than a grand opening for Citi Field.

But for all that remains a work in progress, the Mets can be sure of one thing:

The tarp works just fine.

Video: The Mets play their first game at Citi Field

Photo slideshow: The Mets get their first look at Citi Field

The grounds crew left it out all afternoon as steady rain fell, and rolled it out again when the rain returned during the sixth inning, causing a one-hour, seven-minute delay. The Mets won, 4-3, but the weather made for an unpleasant backdrop for the first major-league game ever played at Citi.

"We expected it was going to be cold," Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran said. "But the rain of course makes everything different. The grass is wet. The game is slow." Still, Beltran added, "It was good to be out there."

The Mets were thankful they got to play at all after rain forced them to take batting practice indoors. Players got a quick look at the stadium late Thursday night, when they returned from spring training in Port St. Lucie, Fla. But Friday was their first opportunity to settle in and get acquainted with the field.

"It was a lot of rain," said Mets starter Livan Hernandez. "I came to the field wondering what was going to happen -- whether we were going to play or not."

Tickets for the game sold out within 45 minutes online earlier this month, and the announced attendance was 37,652. But there were a noticeable amount of empty seats, with some fans perhaps deterred by the weather and others more interested in walking around the ballpark.

It was not the first game played at Citi Field, which hosted a college game between St. John's and Georgetown on Sunday. Still, there were cameras flashing from the stands throughout the evening as several historical footnotes were made.

Hernandez threw the first major-league pitch in stadium history, a ball to Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to start the first inning. Beltran recorded the first out, snagging Ellsbury's fly to center.

The next batter, Dustin Pedroia, had the first hit on a short fly to right that turned into a ground rule double when it bounced into the stands along the third-base line. The first run came on a double by Red Sox first baseman Chris Carter, driving in J.D. Drew.

But those were about the only plays that counted for much. The Mets were more concerned with getting comfortable in their new surroundings.

Many players arrived earlier than they normally would for a regular-season night game hoping to spend extra time on the field in the afternoon. Outfielders, in particular, needed all the practice time they could get to learn how the ball is likely to play off the wall.

"I need to work the wall," Mets left fielder Daniel Murphy said. "I need to get a feel for what the ball is going to do when it caroms down the line. It looks like there's not a lot of foul territory, so anything that might get snatched down the third-base line, it might ricochet out into the playing field."

But the rain forced players to remain indoors for most of the afternoon. Right fielder Ryan Church said he arrived at about 11:45 a.m. hoping to take some extra fly balls. But the only thing he got familiar with was the game room in the clubhouse.

"I'm still trying to get the high score in the pinball machine in there," he said.