New York lays claim to three major airports, although only two of them are actually in New York City, the third one is in New Jersey though it is still used extensively for flights into New York. Details on each airport are shown below along with the identifier code for each one. This three letter code is often used by airlines as an abbreviation so knowing the codes can be helpful to read some of their information.

plane landing at jfk

John F Kennedy International Airport - JFK

The main airport serving the city for international flights into and out of the USA. The airport is located in Queens, some 30 to 45 minutes from Manhattan depending on traffic. The yellow cabs that take passengers from the airport into the city are set at a flat rate determined each year in conjunction with the city council. The rate is currently $45 into midtown Manhattan.

Newark Liberty International Airport - EWR

Situated in New Jersey, Newark Airport is only around 15 miles to the south west of New York City and is another busy airport for flights into the city. As with JFK, Newark has a flat rate taxi service from the airport to the city, and midtown Manhattan is the same rate as JFK at $45. Time wise it takes around the same time too since, although it is further away the traffic is less of a problem.

La Guardia Airport - LGA

Found in Queens, although in the northern part of the borough unlike JFK which is located in the south, La Guardia is primarily used for flights within the United States, with some flights also going to Canada as well as seasonal routings to Aruba and the Bahamas. Being mainly an internal flights service, there are no set rates for cabs here, since that idea was brought in mainly for overseas visitors to ensure a positive experience upon first entering the country.

New York does need these airports as they had around 100 million people travelling through the three of them last year. Whether it be as a stop during an onward journey or a visit to New York itself to see what the city can offer, these airports played a critical role in making it happen.