Watching New York JFK live
Crossing runway pairs on Jamaica Bay, the AirTrain circling the terminals.
The layout
John F. Kennedy International has four runways in two crossing pairs: 4L/22R and 4R/22L running north-east to south-west, and 13L/31R and 13R/31L running north-west to south-east. Runway 13R/31L is one of the longest commercial runways in North America. The terminals, numbered 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8, sit in a ring in the middle of the field, with the AirTrain looping around them, and Jamaica Bay lies to the south and west.
The layout means the airport's configuration changes more than most, as controllers pick the combination of runways that suits the wind and the traffic.
How the flow works
A typical configuration lands on 22L and departs on 22R and 31L, but the combinations are many. The most photogenic is the Canarsie approach: aircraft landing on 13L follow a curving path over Brooklyn, guided by lead-in lights along the Belt Parkway, and turn onto final only at the last moment. When it is in use, you will see approaches curving in from the west rather than lined up straight.
Because the runways cross, aircraft on the ground often wait for a departure on the intersecting runway before they can taxi across.
What to watch for
JFK's evening is the show. From about six until eleven the transatlantic departures leave in a bank: British Airways, Virgin, Delta, American and every European flag carrier, plus the long-haul flights to the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The morning brings them back. JetBlue's A320s and A220s keep Terminal 5 busy through the day, and Delta's widebodies dominate Terminal 4.
The new Terminal One is rising on the west side of the ring; on the map you can see the construction footprint beside the existing terminals.
More airports
- LAXLos Angeles International AirportFour parallel runways beside the Pacific, and the busiest airport on the US west coast.
- ORDChicago O'Hare International AirportEight runways, two giant hubs, and weather that keeps everyone on their toes.
- ATLHartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International AirportThe busiest airport on Earth: five parallel runways and an arrival every minute.
- DXBDubai International AirportA380s all day at the busiest international hub in the world.
- LHRLondon Heathrow AirportTwo runways running flat out, Terminal 5 at the west end.
- JFKJohn F. Kennedy International AirportCrossing runway pairs on Jamaica Bay, the AirTrain circling the terminals.
- SANSan Diego International AirportOne runway between the bay and downtown, and the steepest approach in the country.
- AMSAmsterdam Airport SchipholSix runways four metres below sea level, and a fifteen-minute taxi to the Polderbaan.
- DFWDallas/Fort Worth International AirportSeven runways on a site the size of Manhattan, Skylink threading the half-moon terminals.
- HNDTokyo Haneda AirportAsia's busiest airport: four runways on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay, one standing on piers.
- BKKSuvarnabhumi AirportThree parallel runways around one vast terminal on the marsh east of the city.
- GRUSão Paulo/Guarulhos International AirportSouth America's busiest airport: two parallel runways on the plateau north-east of the biggest city in the hemisphere.
- SYDSydney Kingsford Smith AirportAustralia's busiest airport: two parallel runways reaching out into Botany Bay, and a third across them.
- SINSingapore Changi AirportThree parallel runways on reclaimed land at the eastern tip of the island, and the best-run hub in the world.
- HKGHong Kong International AirportThree parallel runways on an island built for the purpose, between the sea and the mountains of Lantau.