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), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA), all operated since 1947 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. [1] In 2014, they were used by more than 117 million passengers. [2] [3] [4] Until 2022, the three shared the International Air Transport Association airport code (IATA code) "NYC"; Newark now only uses EWR. [5] 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. [6] [7]
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. [8]
Teterboro Airport is the oldest operating airport in the New York metropolitan area. Walter C. Teter (1863–1929) acquired the property in 1917. [9] 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. [10] [11] Flushing Airport opened in 1927, quickly becoming the city's busiest airport; it closed in 1984. [12] Newark Liberty International Airport opened in 1928. [13] 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. [14] LaGuardia Airport was opened in 1939, [15] and Floyd Bennett Field was closed for general aviation two years later. [16] John F. Kennedy International Airport opened as Idlewild Airport in 1948. [17]
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. [18] 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 Airline 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. [19] 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. [18] The West Side Airlines Terminal closed in 1972, the Airlines Building was demolished in 1978, and the East Side Airline Terminal closed in 1984. [19] [20]
The Cradle of Aviation Museum, the Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey, and Newark Metropolitan Airport Buildings preserve the history of aviation in the New York metro area.
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 inbound and outbound flights to and from the area's many airports, as well as transitory air traffic between neighboring regions.
Regulations are in effect in the airspace where flight is permitted under visual flight rules (VFR), the East River VFR corridor and the Hudson River VFR corridor. The southern end of both begins at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The corridor along the Hudson River allows VFR flight along the entire length between Manhattan and the New Jersey Hudson Waterfront north to the Alpine Tower, while that along the East River ends southwest of LGA airspace at the northern end of Roosevelt Island. [24] [25]
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. [26]
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. [27] Sections of the airport have been a foreign trade zone since 1984. [28] [29] 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. [30] 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. [30] 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.
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. [31] In 2003, Newark became the terminus of the world's longest non-stop scheduled airline route, Continental's service to Hong Kong. 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 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Manhattan. The top three international destinations from Newark are London, Toronto and Tel Aviv. [32] 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. [33]
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 6 miles (9.7 km) 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). [34]
Plans were announced in July 2015 to entirely rebuild LaGuardia Airport itself in a multibillion-dollar project to replace its aging facilities, and this project would accommodate a new AirTrain LaGuardia connection. [35] [36] [37]
Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP), otherwise known as Islip Airport, is located in Ronkonkoma, New York, in Suffolk County, about 44 miles (71 km) 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, Frontier Airlines, and Breeze Airways to domestic destinations mostly in the southeast. [38]
Stewart International Airport (SWF) is located about 60 miles (97 km) 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. [39] 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.
Trenton–Mercer Airport (TTN) is located in and owned by Mercer County, New Jersey, near Trenton. It began to see a return of scheduled passenger service in 2013, becoming a focus city for Frontier Airlines, servicing 9 nonstop destinations. [40]
Westchester County Airport (HPN) is located in and owned by Westchester County, New York, about 33 miles (53 km) 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. [41] [42]
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 28 miles (45 km) from midtown Manhattan.
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 12 miles (19 km) from midtown Manhattan in the New Jersey Meadowlands, which makes it very popular for private and corporate aircraft.
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:
There are numerous heliports in the New York metro area. Three of the busiest are in Manhattan:
A heliport operated from the roof of the Pan Am Building in midtown Manhattan from 1965 through 1968 and again for a short period in 1977, before a fatal accident caused it to close. [44] [45] In 1968, the East 60th Street Heliport was opened to divert general aviation aircraft from the major commercial airports to smaller airfields (such as Teterboro), where passengers could board a helicopter and travel onward to Midtown Manhattan; the heliport was shut down in the late 1990s amid noise and safety concerns. [46] [47]
Seaplane bases in the New York metropolitan area include:
From 1934 to the mid-1980s, Wall Street Skyport served as a seaplane base that was primarily used by suburban commuters working in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. Since 2015, New Jersey has largely prohibited the use of seaplanes on navigable waters. [48]
An average of 40% of passenger aircraft delays in the U.S. originated in the New York metropolitan area, some in the area and others due to cascading effects. [49] One-third of aircraft in the national airspace system move through the New York area at some point during a typical day. [50] The three major airports rank among the worst airports for delays in the U.S. despite FAA caps limiting the number of takeoffs and landings per hour to 83 at both JFK and EWR and 71 at LGA. [51] While an increased demand for passengers and freight is foreseen, limited land availability in the heavily urbanized area and prohibitive costs constrict expansion of JFK, EWR, and LGA. Approaches to mitigate delays and increase capacity include costly runway expansion projects and greater use of reliever airports. Before the establishment of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in 1960, the PANYNJ had proposed to build an airport at the location in Morris County, New Jersey but was widely opposed. Studies conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Regional Plan Association, the PANYNJ, and others have identified few sites within the region that would satisfy the requirements for a major airport and evaluated potential dispersion of flights to outlying commercial airports, including Atlantic City International Airport (ACY), Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE), Bradley International Airport (BDL), and Tweed New Haven Regional Airport (HVN). [52] [53] [54] In July 2013, the PANYNJ took control of ACY. [55]
The first municipal airport in New York City was Floyd Bennett Field, developed to lure business away from Newark, but it was ultimately unsuccessful as a general aviation airport and became a Naval Air Station in 1941. [16] It is now part of Gateway National Recreation Area. The New York City Police Department leases facilities for their helicopter operations from the National Park Service.
Flushing Airport was another early airport in New York City. It opened in 1927 and was the busiest airport in New York for a time. A decade later it was overshadowed by the larger LaGuardia Airport located nearby. The airport was decommissioned in 1984 after a fatal accident in 1977. [12] Now the area is wetlands owned by the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Holmes Airport existed in the Jackson Heights section of Queens from 1929 until 1940. It was put out of business by competition from the new LaGuardia Airport, nearby. Naval Air Station Rockaway near Fort Tilden and Miller Field on the South Shore of Staten Island were military airfields facing Lower New York Bay. Rockaway was active in the 1920s, and Miller from 1921 until 1969. Both are part of Gateway National Recreation Area.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized by the United States Congress. The Port Authority oversees much of the regional transportation infrastructure, including bridges, tunnels, airports, and seaports, within the geographical jurisdiction of the Port of New York and New Jersey. This 1,500-square-mile (3,900 km2) port district is generally encompassed within a 25-mile (40 km) radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. The Port Authority is headquartered at 4 World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.
John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is the busiest of the seven airports in the New York airport system, the sixth-busiest airport in the United States, and the busiest international commercial airport in North America. The airport, which covers 5,200 acres (2,104 ha), is the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Over 90 airlines operate from Kennedy Airport, with nonstop or direct flights to destinations on all six inhabited continents.
Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of downtown Newark and 9 miles (14 km) west-southwest of Manhattan, it is a major gateway to destinations in Europe, South America, Asia, and Oceania. It is jointly owned by the two cities, and the airport itself is leased to its operator, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It is the second-busiest airport in the New York airport system behind John F. Kennedy International Airport and ahead of LaGuardia Airport.
LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. Covering 680 acres (280 ha) as of July 1, 2024, the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after Fiorello La Guardia, a former mayor of New York City.
New York Stewart International Airport – colloquially known as Stewart International Airport, is a public/military airport in Orange County, New York, United States. It is in the southern Hudson Valley, west of Newburgh, south of Kingston, and southwest of Poughkeepsie, approximately 60 miles (97 km) north of Manhattan, New York City.
Teterboro Airport is a general aviation relief airport situated in the boroughs of Teterboro, Moonachie, and Hasbrouck Heights in Bergen County, New Jersey. It is owned and managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and operated by AFCO AvPORTS Management. The airport is in the New Jersey Meadowlands, 12 miles (19 km) north-northwest of Midtown Manhattan, making it popular for private and corporate aircraft. The airport has a weight limit of 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) on aircraft, making it nonviable for any commercial service.
The Downtown Manhattan Heliport is a helicopter landing platform at Pier 6, on the East River, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City.
New York Airways was an American helicopter airline in the New York City area, founded in 1949 as a mail and cargo carrier. On 9 July 1953 it may have been the first scheduled helicopter airline to carry passengers in the United States, with headquarters at LaGuardia Airport. Although primarily a helicopter airline operator with scheduled passenger operations, New York Airways also flew fixed wing aircraft, such as the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 19-passenger STOL twin turboprop aircraft.
Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport is a public airport in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, owned by the city of Bridgeport. It is three miles (6 km) southeast of downtown, in the town of Stratford. It was formerly Bridgeport Municipal Airport.
US Helicopter was an independent air shuttle service that operated regularly scheduled helicopter flights from Manhattan to Newark and JFK airports. Flights left from Downtown and Midtown Manhattan Heliports to Delta Air Lines Terminal 3 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). There were also flights to and from Bridgeport, Connecticut (BDR). It was headquartered at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, Pier 6 E River in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, or Port Authority Police Department (PAPD), is a law enforcement agency in New York and New Jersey, the duties of which are to protect and to enforce state and city laws at all the facilities, owned or operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), the bi-state agency running airports, seaports, and many bridges and tunnels within the Port of New York and New Jersey. Additionally, the PAPD is responsible for other PANYNJ properties including three bus terminals, the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, and the PATH train system. The PAPD is the largest transit-related police force in the United States.
The East River Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA), formally known as the East River class-B exclusion, is a section of airspace above the East River in New York City in which flight is permitted under visual flight rules (VFR). Formerly, this could be done without being in contact with air traffic control. Pilots operating within the SFRA are expected to self-announce on a designated frequency of 123.075 MHz, and to maintain appropriate separation visually.
The New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) is located in the East Garden City neighborhood of Uniondale, on Long Island, New York. New York TRACON, also known as N90, is a type of Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control facility known as a consolidated TRACON, meaning that a single location provides approach service for several large airports. It is headquartered at 1515 Stewart Avenue.
East 34th Street Heliport is a heliport on the east side of Manhattan located on the East River Greenway, between the East River and the FDR Drive viaduct. Also known as the Atlantic Metroport at East 34th Street, it is a public heliport owned by New York City and run by the Economic Development Corporation.
New York Skyports Inc. Seaplane base is a seaplane base in the East River VFR corridor in New York City, located at the foot of East 23rd Street between Waterside Plaza and Stuyvesant Cove Park. The seaplane base opened in 1939 and was later incorporated into the Skyport Marina that was completed in 1962. It is the only seaplane base in New York City.
Transportation in New Jersey utilizes a combination of road, rail, air, and water modes. New Jersey is situated between Philadelphia and New York City, two major metropolitan centers of the Boston-Washington megalopolis, making it a regional corridor for transportation. As a result, New Jersey's freeways carry high volumes of interstate traffic and products. The main thoroughfare for long distance travel is the New Jersey Turnpike, the nation's fifth-busiest toll road. The Garden State Parkway connects the state's densely populated north to its southern shore region. New Jersey has the 4th smallest area of U.S. states, but its population density of 1,196 persons per sq. mi causes congestion to be a major issue for motorists.
On August 8, 2009, at 11:53 a.m. (15:53 UTC), nine people died when a tour helicopter and a small private airplane collided over the Hudson River near Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, New Jersey, United States. The aircraft were in an area known as the "Hudson River VFR Corridor", which extends from the surface of the river to altitudes of 800 to 1,500 ft at various locations along the Hudson River in the immediate area of New York City. Within this corridor, aircraft operate under visual flight rules (VFR), under which the responsibility to see and avoid other air traffic rests with the individual pilots rather than with the air traffic controller (ATC).
Blade Air Mobility, Inc. is an aviation company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. Blade's urban air mobility platform provides air transportation for passengers and last-mile critical cargo, primarily using helicopters and amphibious aircraft for passenger routes in the United States, Canada, Southern Europe, and India, in addition to being one of the largest air medical transporters of human organs for transplant in the world. Blade began trading on the Nasdaq on May 10, 2021, via a SPAC merger.
AirTrain LaGuardia was a proposed 1.5-mile-long (2.4 km) people mover system and elevated railway in New York City, United States, that would provide service to LaGuardia Airport in Queens. It would have connected with the New York City Subway and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in Willets Point, similar to how the existing AirTrain JFK system connects John F. Kennedy International Airport's five terminals to the LIRR in southern Queens at Jamaica station and to the subway at both Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport station and Howard Beach–JFK Airport station; and how the existing AirTrain Newark station connects Newark Liberty International Airport's three terminals to NJ Transit Rail Operations and Amtrak at a dedicated station.
Under the terms of agreements with the City of New York, dated April 17, 1947, and with the City of Newark, dated October 22, 1947, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is responsible for the improvement, development, operation and maintenance of LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
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(help)Newark and Kennedy takeoffs and landings are limited to 81 an hour from 6 a.m. to 10:59 p.m. daily; LaGuardia flights are restricted to 71 hourly from 6 a.m. to 9:59 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 9:59 p.m. on Sunday. The FAA placed the cap on LaGuardia in 2001 after letting carriers exceed limits the previous year that had been in place since 1968. The FAA extended the LaGuardia cap in 2006 and in 2009 lowered it to 71 from 75.