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New York Airports

How Many Airports are There in New York?

It’s not easy to determine how many airports are in New York. The industry develops quickly, new airports are built, the existing ones change their names and status. Currently, there are 162 public airports in the state, as well as numerous private and general aviation airfields. It is considered the state with the busiest air traffic in the United States. The average annual number of passengers arriving to and departing from the NY airports exceeds 130 million. The three major airports that make up the metropolitan area account for about 90% of the total volume of air passenger traffic in the region.
The busiest New York airports are ranged as follows:

  • John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). 16,630,642 passengers flew to or from JFK in 2020, with half of those flying internationally. There are over 70 carriers operating in the airport.
  • Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). In 2020, more than 30 airlines enplaned and deplaned 15,892,892 passengers at the airport. Among them, 24% made international travelers.
  • LaGuardia Airport (LGA). 8,245,192 air travelers took a flight to or from LGA in 2020 (4.75% share of international passengers). At the moment, the airport is served by 12 airlines.
  • Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF). The airport’s passenger numbers have dropped significantly (by about 60%) since 2019 when it handled 4,892,000 passengers. At the moment, the airport is served by four airlines.
  • Albany International Airport (ALB). On average, 1.5 million passengers visit the airport each year. Presently there are 7 airlines operating.

Airspace

The New York airports map shows the corresponding airspace is related to Class B. It is heavily congested, and delays are common at all three of New York’s major airports. Their terminals are often among the worst in terms of delays. However, they also often receive high marks for the quality of service and infrastructure available.
It is controlled by the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center. The latter enforces visual flight rules (VFR) and establishes flight corridors for planes. There are two VFR flight corridors in the New York metropolitan area:

  • East River VFR corridor. From Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to the edge of LGA airspace and Roosevelt Island.
  • Hudson River VFR corridor. From Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to the Alpine Tower.
    Other airports in New York state belong to different classes of airspace. For example, Albany International Airport and Buffalo Niagara International Airport are Class C airspace.

New York City Airports Transportation

Several means of transportation are available at airports in New York state. The following options are available in the metropolitan region:

  • Public, owned by the government. MTA RegionalBus Operations, Long Island Rail Road, Subway of New York City. These are the cheapest but also the slowest options.
  • Private. A lot of expensive cabs. It takes about $50 to get to Manhattan from any of New York airports.
  • Private shuttle service. The middle option for price and speed. The NYC Airporter and GO Airlink shuttle go between the airports and Manhattan, with scheduled stops on the way.