What Is the Largest Airport in New York?

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is the largest airport in New York — by passengers and by land area at the same time. It handled a record 63.3 million passengers in 2024, more than LaGuardia and Newark, and it covers about 5,200 acres in Queens, against about 2,027 acres for Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and only 680 acres for LaGuardia Airport (LGA). It is also the sixth-busiest airport in the United States and North America’s largest gateway for international passengers, with 35.3 million international travelers in 2024. If the question is which New York airport is biggest, the answer is JFK on every measure that counts.

Largest by passengers

The passenger numbers settle the question. In 2024, the Port Authority’s four commercial airports — JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, and New York Stewart — served a record 145.9 million passengers between them, and JFK alone handled 63.3 million of those, a record for the airport and about 2 percent more than the year before. LaGuardia and Newark both had their busiest years ever in 2024 too, but neither came close to JFK’s total. In 2025, JFK handled 62.6 million passengers — a slight dip from the record, but still its second-busiest year ever. The split is what makes JFK unusual: roughly half its traffic is international, and its 35.3 million international passengers in 2024 were more than any other airport in the Port Authority system and more than any other airport in North America. No other New York airport is a long-haul gateway at that scale.

Largest by size

JFK is also the largest by land, and the gap is wide. The three airports sit on very different footprints, and the footprint shapes everything about using them — how far the terminals are apart, how long the drive in is, and how much room there is to grow.

• JFK — about 5,200 acres in Jamaica, Queens, with 5 active passenger terminals and 4 runways
• Newark Liberty International (EWR) — about 2,027 acres in New Jersey, the second-largest of the three
• LaGuardia (LGA) — only 680 acres in Queens, the smallest by far, and the closest of the three to Manhattan

That size difference is the reason the three airports feel so different. LaGuardia’s 680 acres make it compact and quick — the smallest airport, the shortest drive, and a perimeter rule that limits most flights to 1,500 miles, keeping it fast and domestic. JFK’s 5,200 acres make it sprawling: terminals are spread around a central loop, the drive between terminals takes minutes, and a traveler who goes to the wrong terminal has a real problem. Newark sits in between on size, and in New Jersey rather than New York City, which is why its ground trip into Manhattan crosses the Hudson and depends on the crossing.

Why JFK is the biggest

Three things built JFK’s lead, and none of them is an accident. First, it is the long-haul gateway: more than 120 airlines fly from JFK to over 200 nonstop destinations, and the JFK to London Heathrow route is the busiest international route in North America, with more than 4 million seats in 2024. Second, it is a hub for three airlines at once — American, Delta, and JetBlue all base large operations there — so it collects connecting traffic as well as New Yorkers. Delta alone carried about 19.1 million passengers at JFK in 2024, JetBlue about 15 million, and American about 7.6 million. Third, it has the room to grow: the Port Authority’s $19 billion redevelopment is rebuilding the airport with a new all-international Terminal 1, a new Terminal 6, and upgraded Terminals 4 and 8, plus redesigned roadways and a new ground transportation network. LaGuardia’s $8 billion modernization is already complete, but its 680 acres cap what it can ever become.

What the size means for your trip

A big airport means a long trip inside the trip, and the ground leg deserves the same planning as the flight. JFK is about 15 miles southeast of Midtown Manhattan, and the ride takes 45 to 60 minutes by car depending on traffic — longer when the Van Wyck Expressway backs up, which it does often. The train is the cheapest honest option: the JFK AirTrain costs $8.75 one way at Jamaica or Howard Beach, and with the $3.00 subway fare the trip to Manhattan is $11.75 per person — but it is per person, with luggage legs, and the AirTrain between terminals is free, so the first job is knowing which of the 5 active terminals your flight uses. Terminal 2 closed in January 2023, and the active terminals are 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8 — a traveler who goes to Terminal 2, or to the wrong terminal, loses the time the airport’s size was supposed to save.

A pre-booked car removes the terminal problem, because the driver tracks the flight and meets you at the right terminal. The economy sedan from JFK to Manhattan is a $65 flat with JetBlack, booked through the booking form or by calling +1-646-214-4828, and the price is fixed before travel with no surge. A yellow taxi on the same route runs on the TLC’s $70 flat fare, with the meter reading “Rate #2 – JFK Airport”, and surcharges, tolls and tip push the real total toward $90 to $115 — the transfers from JFK Airport to Manhattan guide compares the car against the train and the taxi on that route, and the JFK to Manhattan budget options page lays out the flat-fare side. For the other two airports, the LaGuardia Airport transfer page and the airport shuttle from JFK to EWR guide cover the same ground — and the closest of New York’s three major airports to Manhattan is LaGuardia, not JFK, which is why its car trip is the shortest even though it is the smallest airport. If you are flying between LaGuardia and JFK, the LGA to JFK transfer guide covers that run, and how to get to LGA Airport using public transportation covers the public route.

So the short version: JFK is the largest airport in New York by passengers — a record 63.3 million in 2024 — and by land, at about 5,200 acres. It is the sixth-busiest airport in the United States and the continent’s biggest international gateway. The trade-off is that the biggest airport is also the most sprawling one, so check your terminal, allow the time, and book the ground leg the way you booked the flight.

Sources

• Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — 2024 Annual Airport Traffic Report and full-year airport volumes (JFK 63.3 million passengers in 2024, record; 62.6 million in 2025; 35.3 million international passengers in 2024; system total 145.9 million in 2024), via Simple Flying and Expanded Ramblings, accessed 2026-11-07
• Wikipedia — John F. Kennedy International Airport (5,200 acres, largest in the New York metropolitan area; busiest of the three airports in the New York airport system; sixth-busiest airport in the United States; 62,629,455 passengers in 2025), accessed 2026-11-07
• Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — AirTrain JFK fare ($8.75 one way at Jamaica/Howard Beach; free between terminals), read 5 November 2026
• NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission — Taxi Fare (Rate #2 JFK Airport $70 flat), accessed 2026-11-07
• JetBlack Transportation — owner-confirmed service facts (booking channels, JFK–Manhattan economy sedan $65 flat, no surge, flight tracking), confirmed 2026-10-26