JFK Terminal 5

If you’re flying out of JFK via JetBlue, you will end up flying out from Terminal 5. The terminal is JetBlue’s home at JFK, handling the airline’s full schedule of domestic, transatlantic, and Caribbean routes, along with flights from Cape Air and Sun Country Airlines. JFK Terminal 5 opened in 2008, which makes it one of the older active terminals at JFK now.

However, everything around the terminal has been rebuilt lately. During the rebuild, JetBlue made an unusual choice. Instead of demolishing the existing structure, a new terminal was built around and behind the TWA Flight Center designed by Eero Saarinen. This is why the TWA Flight Center still exists today, restored as the TWA Hotel. The hotel is connected to the terminal by a walkway.

Close to Terminal 5, the airport authorities are currently building Terminal 6. Once the new terminal opens, it will connect to JFK Terminal 5, making them the first two terminals to be physically connected at JFK. The airport’s north side will then have a continuous JetBlue-anchored campus. We always suggest you learn in detail about JFK Airport Terminal 5 before heading to the airport, and that’s where our guide can help you!

Terminal 5 has 29 gates (numbered 501-512 and 514-530), sprawling across three areas on three levels. The bottom area features passport control, baggage claim, and the walkway to the TWA Hotel. The central area has the boarding gates. The upper area has check-in and the main security checkpoint.

Dining and shopping options are spread throughout the terminal. The JFK Terminal 5 layout makes it easy for you to grab a bite close to anywhere you end up, rather than backtracking across the building. It’s also one of the reasons why the terminal feels smaller and easier to navigate than some of the older buildings in the airport.

The TWA Flight Center has a longer story than you realize. Trans World Airlines built it. Eero Saarinen designed it, but he died in 1961, months before its opening in 1962. TWA went out of business in 2001, bought out by American Airlines, and the building remained unoccupied for years after that.

The city named that building a landmark in 1994. That’s why JetBlue wasn’t able to demolish it, as the building was legally protected. JetBlue was still a new airline when the Terminal 5 construction started. The airline started its operations in 2000, and JFK became its home base quickly. The terminal construction started in 2005 and was completed in 2008.

However, the TWA Flight Center’s restoration was delayed. After years of restoration activities, the center reopened as TWA Hotel in 2019, more than a decade after Terminal 5 was completed.

Terminal 5 is home to JetBlue, anchoring most of the domestic and international flights passing through JFK. The airline also hosts its regional partner Cape Air in this terminal, operating flights to some New England destinations. Sun Country Airlines also operates seasonal flights from this terminal.

Terminal 5 has its own international arrivals facility with dedicated US Customs and Border Protection processing. However, JetBlue’s international arrivals between 10:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. are routed to JFK Terminal 4, due to Federal Inspection Services (FIS) operating hours. Outside that overnight window, JetBlue runs all of its domestic, international, and premium flights through Terminal 5.

As flight delays happen often in the terminal owing to bad weather and peak morning and evening rush, it is always best that you check the live JFK flight status before driving to the airport.

JetBlue flights from Terminal 5 serve around 33 airports across the country. International flights mostly serve destinations across the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe.

Terminal 5 usually has lower security wait times compared to JFK’s larger hubs. Typically, the TSA wait time at this terminal is under 15 minutes for standard security screening during non-peak hours. However, peak morning departures can still see long lines building quickly. To streamline the morning rush, the departure level has dedicated TSA PreCheck lanes.

Reaching your gate from the upper-level security checkpoint is quick. Walking times are around 3 to 5 minutes for Gates 501 to 507, 5 to 10 minutes for Gates 508 to 521, and 3 to 7 minutes for Gates 522 to 530. We recommend you arrive at the terminal at least two hours before your departure time if flying domestically and three hours before if flying internationally. If you are traveling during the summer season or holidays, add a buffer of 30 minutes to the recommended time.

Checking the live JFK TSA wait times before driving to the airport will help you adjust your arrival window, especially if you are flying without priority security access.

These are some of the amenities in Terminal 5 at JFK.

The Terminal 5 Yellow Garage offers the closest parking near the terminal. The parking rates start at $6 for 30 minutes and go up to a maximum of $89 a day. The garage has height restrictions imposed on various levels. Also, you can park your car at the TWA Hotel. The hotel also offers valet parking for non-guests, costing a maximum of $80 a day.

Long-Term Parking and Federal Circle Station lots are your options for onsite long-term parking at JFK. The lots aren’t close to the terminal, and the daily parking rates tend to be expensive. Terminal 5 mostly handles a mix of domestic, Caribbean, and transatlantic routes, making JFK overnight parking a good option for JetBlue passengers.

Also, many offsite lots offer parking near JFK Terminal 5. If you are looking for the cheapest parking rates, these lots are your best bet. You can save up to 60% on JFK Airport parking rates when you reserve parking at an offsite lot.

JetBlue BlueHouse Lounge is the only lounge at Terminal 5. The flagship two-story lounge has two full bars, a photo booth, a game room, and quiet work pods. Transatlantic Mint passengers, JetBlue Premier cardholders, and Mosaic 4 members get free access to this lounge. Eligible travelers can also access it with pay-per-visit passes.

The shopping and dining options are spread uniformly through the terminal building instead of grouped near a few gates. That is really helpful if you arrive at JFK early and want the options to be nearby, no matter which gate you’re boarding the flight from. The biggest attraction for this terminal is the direct connection to the TWA Hotel, which effectively serves as an extended, second dining and drinking hub for travelers.

Instead of the terminal curb, rideshare pickups for Terminal 5 passengers have shifted to the Howard Beach Ride App & Car Services Lot. You can locate the taxi pickup area on the ground floor of the Terminal 5 Yellow Parking Garage, close to the AirTrain station.

Now you can connect to all JFK Airport terminals via the free AirTrain. There is no shortcut airside. Connecting to another terminal means you need to clear security again. You can connect on foot once Terminal 6 opens; there won’t be a need to use the AirTrain to connect to Terminal 6.