Airport Airport

JFK John F. Kennedy International Airport TSA Times

( Terminal 8 - TSA PreCheck )
IATA Code:

JFK

Timezone:

UTC/GMT -4:00 hours

Airport local time:

Tuesday, 11:33am


Wait times are falling (21.2% over last 4 hours)
Updated today, Tuesday 12 May 2026
11:20 AM (UTC/GMT -4:00 hours)
Add Your Time
  • Data

    Qsensor makes use of data from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

  • Disclaimer

    Waiting times may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

  • Airport Last Updated

    11:20 AM (UTC/GMT -4:00 hours)

Unlock Live Terminal Data

Find real-time security wait times and terminal-specific information. Pay once, access forever.

  • Real-time wait times
  • Terminal comparisons
  • Total average

    Wait Times by Day of Week

    Average wait times based on the last 3 weeks of data.

    5m
    Mon
    5m
    Tue
    6m
    Wed
    5m
    Thu
    5m
    Fri
    5m
    Sat
    6m
    Sun

    The wait time at 11 am for TSA PreCheck queue in terminal 8 is 4 minutes

    Based on data from the past 3 weeks.
    Current: 7 min (Shorter wait than usual: avg wait time is 10 min)

    Unlock Wait Time Trends

    Analyse security wait time patterns over time and plan your perfect arrival. Pay once, access forever.

    • Trend analysis
    • Peak time identification
    • Weekday breakdown

    Unlock Smart Airport Arrival Times

    Pay once for lifetime advanced arrival suggestions for optimal airport arrival times based on current conditions.

    • Airline timing
    • Airport considerations
    • Security wait factors
    Latest Airport Arrival Time
    Domestic 1h 45m before departure
    International 2h 15m before departure
    How we calculated this

    Bag drop closes 45-60 min before departure. With an estimated 45 min bag drop queue, you need to arrive at the desk 90-105 min early. After that, allow 5 min for security (avg on Tuesdays) and 20 min to walk to your gate, which closes 15-20 min before departure. Finally, add a 15 min buffer.

    Unlock Best & Worst Time

    Discover the optimal times to fly through this airport based on historical patterns. Pay once, access forever.

    • Lowest wait time periods
    • Peak hours to avoid
    • Time savings insights

    Best & Worst Times to Fly

    Based on historical tsa wait times and flight delays across all days of the week.

    Best Time
    Night
    9pm - 4am
    1 min avg wait
    16 min avg flight delay
    Worst Time
    Evening
    5pm - 9pm
    7 min avg wait
    22 min avg flight delay
    Flying in the Night instead of Evening could save you up to 6 minutes in tsa lines and 6 minutes in flight delays.

    How Busy
    Is the Airport?

    Based on live and historical flight patterns. Tap a bar to see details.

    As busy as usual (27 flights vs 29 avg)
    12 am
    1 am
    2 am
    3 am
    4 am
    5 am
    6 am
    7 am
    8 am
    9 am
    10 am
    11 am
    12 pm
    1 pm
    2 pm
    3 pm
    4 pm
    5 pm
    6 pm
    7 pm
    8 pm
    9 pm
    10 pm
    11 pm
    Not busy
    A bit busy
    Busy
    Very busy

    Flight Delays

    Average departure delays by hour, based on the last 2 weeks of flight data.

    Current: 21 min (Higher than usual: avg wait time is 7 min)
    Updated today, Tuesday 12 May 2026
    -- --

    Flight Status

    On Time (0-15 min)
    Delayed (16-45 min)
    Severely Delayed (>45 min)

    Select a day to view flight status

    Airport Guide for John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

    John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is the primary international gateway to New York City and the busiest international air passenger hub in North America. Located in Queens, approximately 15 miles southeast of Midtown Manhattan, the airport serves over 60 million passengers annually through five active terminals Terminal 1, Terminal 4, Terminal 5, Terminal 7 and Terminal 8.

    Currently, JFK is undergoing a historic $19 billion redevelopment designed to transform the facility into a world-class global hub. This massive infrastructure project includes the construction of two new state-of-the-art terminals (The New Terminal One and Terminal 6) and a complete overhaul of the airport’s roadway network. Consequently, travelers in 2026 are visiting an airport in transition; while fully operational, the “new” JFK requires passengers to carefully plan for construction detours and allow extra time for ground transportation.

    John F. Kennedy International Airport FAQ

    Generally, no. The terminals at JFK are separated by busy roadways and are not connected by pedestrian walkways (airside or landside).

    You must use the AirTrain to travel between terminals. The AirTrain for all trips within the airport complex (e.g., going from Terminal 4 to Terminal 8).

    Follow the “AirTrain” signs in your terminal. There are three lines, but the Gold/Yellow Airline Terminal Loop is the dedicated circle line that stops at all terminals (1, 4, 5, 7, 8). It runs 24/7, typically every 10–15 minutes.

    If you have to change terminals for a connecting flight, you must exit the secure area, take the AirTrain, and re-clear security at your new terminal.

    • International flight and connecting through a different terminal: 2-3 hours between flights to account for AirTrain wait times and security lines.
    • Domsetic connection within the same terminal: Minimum of 30 minutes, 1 hour for comfort.

    If you do not have Global Entry, the best free option is Mobile Passport Control (MPC).

    How it works: Download the MPC app, submit your passport and travel details upon landing, and use the dedicated “MPC” lane in the arrivals hall. It is often significantly faster than the general immigration line.

    Note: Available to US, Canadan and Green Card holders only.

    T4 Reserve is a free virtual queuing program at Terminal 4. It allows you to book a specific time slot for TSA security screening up to 72 hours before your flight. This lets you skip the general TSA line. You can book this on the JFK Terminal 4 website.

    Note: The service is available daily from 5 to 10am and 3pm to 8pm at JFK Terminal 4.

    The Subway (E Train or A Train).

    • Route: Take the AirTrain to Jamaica Station (for E train) or Howard Beach (for A train).
    • Cost: $8.50 (AirTrain exit fee) + $2.90 (Subway fare) = $11.40 total.
    • Time: Approximately 60–75 minutes.

    JFK is going through a major makeover, which could negatively impact your journey. We recommend heading over to their website, to check the latest construction news.

    20,000+

    Trusted by travellers monthly

    Award Winner

    UK Travel Awards

    Similar Airports

    Explore wait times for other airports in the region

    JFK
    JFK Airport Customs

    New York City, United States

    LGA
    LaGuardia Airport

    New York City, United States

    EWR
    Newark International Airport

    New York City, United States

    ATL
    ATL Customs

    Atlanta, United States

    ATL
    Atlanta International Airport

    Atlanta, United States

    Live Airport & Flight Intelligence

    Real-time security wait times, flight delay tracking, and airport busyness data — all in one place.

    Security Wait Times

    Live TSA, CATSA, and security checkpoint wait times by terminal and queue, with historical patterns to help you pick the best time to arrive.

    Updates every 5–15 minutes from official feeds and crowdsourced reports
    Per-terminal and per-queue breakdowns
    Historical charts showing quietest times to fly

    Flight Delay Tracking

    Live status for individual flights with 14-day rolling delay averages, on-time rates, and side-by-side route comparisons.

    Real-time departure and arrival status
    Email alerts for delays and cancellations
    Similar-flight performance comparisons

    How It Works

    1

    Search

    Find your airport or flight number

    2

    Check Live Data

    See current wait times, delays, and busyness levels

    3

    Travel Smarter

    Use insights and alerts to plan your journey

    Official Sources

    Data from TSA, CATSA, and airline systems

    Always Current

    Continuous updates throughout the day

    Flight Alerts

    Email notifications for delays and cancellations

    Global Coverage

    Hundreds of airports worldwide

    Qsensor FAQ

    Live data: For the majority of the airports we track we use live data from the airport. For the remaining airports we provide a modelled projection, combined with crowdsourced data.

    Search: By airport name, IATA code, city, county, country or region. To save you time, we keep your last visited airports on the front page. If you can’t find an airport, contact us using the contact form and we will look to add it. 

    Current average wait time: The airport’s latest average security, passport control or customs queue wait time. If the airport has multiple queues, we display the average of them. If you want a more granular view that includes wait times for individual queues, take a look at the terminal level wait times. We regularly update each airport’s data,  but make sure you click the “i” icon to check when the last update was made.

    Terminal level wait times: The latest security or customs queue wait time for individual terminals. Click on the terminal to access more information at the terminal level. Please note that this data is not available for all airports. We are working to expand this functionality to as many airports as possible.

    Historical wait times: The typical wait time on different days and times over the past 2 weeks. Click the filter at the top right of the graph to cycle through the days of the week.

    Add a security or customs queue wait time: How was your airport security experience? Contribute to the community by inputting your wait time. This feature is only available for airports where Qsensor does not automatically track data. To add a wait time, simply click the “Add Your Time” button on the airports page and follow the instructions.

    add time button

    Please note that this data is monitored and may be modified or deleted if found to be invalid.

    Click the “i” icon to view and take note of more contextual information on each airport. “Airport Last Updated” denotes the last time the data was refreshed.

    Our sources for wait time data vary and may include air travel data aggregators, federal agencies such as the TSA, CATSA CBP, or information from the airport and its affiliated service providers. For some airports, Qsensor utilises its proprietary queue modelling technology to project wait times. Additionally, we crowdsource data from passengers who have input their wait time using the “Add Your Time” button.

    Qsensor is not affiliated with any airport, airline, or associated service provider.

    We regularly check queue times and flight delays for accuracy, however all times are estimates and waiting times and delays may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

    There are a wide array of ways that queue data is measured. Including but not limited to looking at how long a passenger takes to get from scanning their boarding pass to exiting the security or customs area. Auditing passengers on how long it took them to pass through security or customs as well as Qsensors’ proprietary system for user added wait times. 

    For airport wait times, we currently support over 140 airports worldwide. Whether it be London Heathrow, Istanbul, or Miami – we have got you covered. More are added all the time. Is Qsensor missing an airport that you want to be supported? We are more than happy to accommodate your request, get in touch via the contact form. 

    For flight delays and cancellations, we currently support 12 airports, with the goal of expanding coverage going forwards.

    Qsensor automatically tracks wait times for a variety of airports including London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Amsterdam Schiphol, Kempegowda Bangalore, Madrid Barajas, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and many more!

    For flight delays and cancellations, we track OHare, Gatwick, Heathrow, Barcelona and more.

    Qsensor is available in English, German, Italian, Greek, Spanish, French, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese and Arabic.

    Send the request via the contact form below:

    Contact form

    Make sure you include the name of the airport and its IATA code in your request!

    The flight delay tracker gives you a comprehensive view of flight status delays, both for the current day and historically on a per flight basis. Tap on a weekday to see all flights that have historically taken off on that day and their typical delay over the past two weeks. You can also search for your flight using your flight number and view the airport’s average delay.

    Get insights into flight on-time performance and make better travel decisions. Please note, this feature is not available for all airports, but we’re adding more all the time!

    To keep wait times relevant, the message “There is currently no data for this airport.” is shown when no traveller has recently inputted a wait time.

    add time button

    For airports Qsensor automatically tracks, this message may also be shown if we haven’t recently gotten data from the airport. This typically rectifies itself within 12 hours.

    If you have a suggestion for an airport you want to be tracked or a feature added, share it via the contact form.

    Any feedback is appreciated <3

    Please review the T&Cs and privacy policy.

    Simply refresh the page and you should see the premium content.

    If you switch browser or device, click “Tap to Unlock” and then login with the account you used to pay for premium and then refresh the page.

    Follow us on socials and the blog for updates on Qsensors’ development, helping travellers with airport wait times and flight delays, and letting everyone know what Qsensor is all about.

    This FAQ section is updated periodically, please check back for updates.

    map map

    Testimonials

    Samantha Novae
    Euismod ipsum

    “In purus at morbi magna in in maecenas. Nunc nulla magna elit, varius phasellus blandit convallis.”

    More information

    Are you looking for a different airport?

    Browse over 130+ airports worldwide.

    Find An Airport