The New York metropolitan area has the busiest airport system in the United States and the second-busiest in the world after London. It is the country's most frequently used port of entry and departure for international flights.
The metro area has three major airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), all operated since 1947 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In 2024, they were used by more than 146.1 million passengers. With 142.7 million passengers, 2025 was the third busiest year, just behind 2023 (143.8 million passengers). Until October 2022, the three shared the International Air Transport Association airport code (IATA code) "NYC"; Newark only uses EWR as of the change. JFK and Newark are connected to regional rail systems by AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark respectively.
The class B airspace used by the three airports is extremely congested. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) limits the number of flights per hour but they rank among the top five airports in the United States for delays.
The area also includes several satellite or reliever airports that provide commercial air carrier service on a much smaller scale as well as numerous general aviation airports, heliports, and seaplane bases.
History Teterboro Airport is the oldest operating airport in the New York metropolitan area. Walter C. Teter (1863–1929) acquired the property in 1917. While other localities had municipal airports, New York City itself had a multitude of private airfields, and thus did not see the need for a municipal airport until the late 1920s. Flushing Airport opened in 1927, quickly becoming the city's busiest airport; it closed in 1984. Newark Liberty International Airport opened in 1928. It was followed in 1930 by Floyd Bennett Field: New York City's first municipal airport, built largely to serve the growth of commercial aviation after World War I. LaGuardia Airport was opened in 1939, and Floyd Bennett Field was closed for general aviation two years later. John F. Kennedy International Airport opened as Idlewild Airport in 1948.
From the 1940s through the 1970s, many airlines provided ticketing, baggage, and airport ground transportation services at remote terminals located in Manhattan. The need for remote terminals arose because at that time airlines were competing with traditional forms of transportation (e.g., railroads) that operated between city centers and there were limitations in passenger processing capacity and parking supply at airports. The 42nd Street Airlines Terminal opened in 1941 on Park Avenue across from Grand Central Terminal. Traffic congestion on streets in the area of the 42nd Street Airlines Terminal led to the opening of the East Side Airlines Terminal in 1953 to provide service to Idlewild and La Guardia airports from its location near the entrance to the Queens–Midtown Tunnel and the opening of the West Side Airlines Terminal in 1955 to provide service to Newark Airport from its location near the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. After the opening of these new remote terminals the 42nd Street Airlines Terminal was renamed the Airlines Building and became a ticketing-only facility. By the early 1970s, there was less need for remote terminals because most airlines had acquired better ticketing and baggage handling facilities at the airports and more air passengers were traveling to or from the suburbs rather than having trip origins or destinations in Manhattan. The West Side Airlines Terminal closed in 1972, the Airlines Building was demolished in 1978, and the East Side Airlines Terminal closed in 1984.
The Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey, Cradle of Aviation Museum, Marine Air Terminal and Newark Metropolitan Airport Buildings preserve the history of aviation in the New York metro area.
Incidents September 11 attacks Airliner accidents and incidents in New York City Airliner accidents and incidents in New Jersey
Airspace The vast majority of airspace above the metropolitan area is controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and split into complex sectors that organize the flow of flights to and from the area's many airports, as well as transitory air traffic between neighboring regions.
New York Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZNY) in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, is one of 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) in the United States. It is responsible for high-altitude traffic above the New York Metropolitan Area and Philadelphia/Delaware Valley metro area, as well as of oceanic airspace.New York area aviation chart (VFR Terminal Area Chart) (high-resolution TIFF, ~31 MB) The unit was located at JFK Airport until July 1963, when it moved to a purpose-built site in Suffolk County that was designed to resist a nuclear attack. New York TRACON (N90), located in Westbury, Long Island, is one of seven large terminal radar approach control units in the United States. It handles air traffic in southern New York State and southeastern Connecticut. Philadelphia TRACON as of July 2024 handles air traffic for Northern New Jersey airports. VFR corridors Flights under visual flight rules (VFR) are allowed in the East River VFR corridor and the Hudson River VFR corridor, which extend north from the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge. The Hudson River corridor allows VFR flight between Manhattan and the New Jersey Hudson Waterfront north to the Alpine Tower just north of New York City. The East River corridor ends southwest of LGA airspace at the northern end of Roosevelt Island.
As of 2014, about 1% of flights to the Port Authority-controlled airports use the Next Generation Air Transportation System, which relies on the Global Positioning System instead of radar.
Major commercial airports
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is the major entry point for international arrivals in the United States, and it is the largest international air freight gateway in the nation by value of shipments. Sections of the airport have been a foreign trade zone since 1984. About 100 airlines from more than 50 countries operate flights to JFK. The JFK–London Heathrow route is the leading U.S. international airport pair with over 2.9 million passengers in 2000. Other top international destinations from JFK are Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Barajas Airport in Madrid, Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Cibao International Airport in Santiago de los Caballeros, Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo, Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt, Narita and Tokyo International Airports in Tokyo, Changi Airport in Singapore, and Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo. The airport is located along Jamaica Bay near Howard Beach, Queens. The elevated AirTrain JFK people mover system connects JFK to the New York City Subway and the Long Island Rail Road.
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport (LGA), the smallest of the New York area's primary airports, handles domestic air service and flights to Canada. It is named for Fiorello H. La Guardia, the city's Depression-era mayor known as a reformist and strong supporter of the New Deal. The airport is located in northern Queens, about from downtown Manhattan.
In 1984, a "perimeter rule" was introduced to reduce congestion, which prohibits incoming and outgoing flights that exceed 1,500 miles (2,400 km) except on Saturdays, when the ban is lifted, and to Denver, Colorado, which has a grandfathered exemption. As a result, most transcontinental and international flights use JFK and Newark (although there are short-haul international flights to the Canadian cities of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa). The LGA-Toronto-Pearson route is the leading US international pair by number of flights, with 17,038 flights in 2019.
Plans were announced in July 2015 to entirely rebuild LaGuardia Airport in a multibillion-dollar project to replace its aging facilities; this project would also accommodate a new AirTrain LaGuardia connection.
Newark Liberty International Airport
Opened in 1928, Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is considered the first major commercial airport in North America. Amelia Earhart dedicated the Newark Metropolitan Airport Administration Building in 1935. It is the fifth busiest international air gateway. From 2003, Newark became the terminus of the world's longest non-stop scheduled airline route, Continental's service to Hong Kong International Airport by United Airlines and Cathay Pacific in 2014 respectively.
In 2004, Singapore Airlines broke Continental's record by starting direct 18-hour flights to Singapore. The airport is located in Newark, New Jersey, about west of downtown Manhattan. The top three international destinations from Newark are London, Toronto and Tel Aviv. It connects to NJ Transit commuter trains and Amtrak intercity trains via the AirTrain Newark monorail. In 2022, the International Air Transport Association removed Newark from the NYC city code.
Other commercial airports
Long Island MacArthur Airport Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP), otherwise known as Islip Airport, is located in Ronkonkoma, New York, in Suffolk County, about east of Manhattan. It is owned and operated by the Town of Islip, and has been designated by the FAA an official New York airport. This airport is primarily served by low-cost carriers Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Frontier Airlines, and Breeze Airways to domestic destinations mostly in the southeast.
Stewart International Airport Stewart International Airport (SWF) is located about northwest of the city in Orange County, New York. In 2007, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey took control of operations at Stewart and has committed $500 million to its upgrade and expansion. From June 2017 to September 2019 Stewart was the only secondary airport in the New York metro area offering flights to Europe. This was enabled by a main runway of over 11,000 feet.
Westchester County Airport Westchester County Airport (HPN) is located in and owned by Westchester County, New York, about north of the city, along the border with Connecticut. It sees service to a dozen destinations, and has seen increases of nearly 100,000 enplanements in the period from 2008 to 2010.
General aviation airports
Republic Airport Republic Airport (FRG) is a general aviation reliever airport located in East Farmingdale, Long Island, on the border of Nassau and Suffolk counties. It is the busiest general aviation airport in the New York Metropolitan region, primarily serving Long Island and is owned by the New York State Department of Transportation, who contracts its operation to a third-party. The airport is about from midtown Manhattan.
Teterboro Airport Teterboro Airport (TEB) is a general aviation reliever airport located in the Boroughs of Teterboro, Moonachie, and Hasbrouck Heights in Bergen County, New Jersey. It is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who contracts its operation to a third-party company. The airport is from midtown Manhattan in the New Jersey Meadowlands, which makes it very popular for private and corporate aircraft.
Additional general aviation airports In addition, there are many smaller general aviation airports, as well as several seaplane bases in the port district and the adjoining region. Among them are:
Brookhaven Airport (HWV) Central Jersey Regional Airport (JVI) Danbury Municipal Airport (DXR) Essex County Airport (CDW) Greenwood Lake Airport (4N1) Hackettstown Airport (N05) Hudson Valley Regional Airport (POU) Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport (BDR) Lincoln Park Airport (N07) Linden Airport (LDJ) Little Ferry Seaplane Base (2N7) Meriden Markham Municipal Airport (MMK) Monmouth Executive Airport (BLM) Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU) New York Skyports Inc. Seaplane Base (QNY)