John F. Kennedy International Airport TSA wait times

JFK · KJFK · New York, New York

Security wait

A live wait is shown in this space when the stored feed is under 15 minutes old.

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The current hour is filled from the observed-hour table in this browser.

Observed security history for John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is listed by hour. It is not a live reading. The current hour is chosen in the browser from that table.

Typical wait by hour

On Sundays, the quietest observed standard-lane hours are 1am (sample-weighted median 3 minutes) and 2am (sample-weighted median 5 minutes). The busiest observed hours are 4pm (sample-weighted 75th percentile 29 minutes) and 3pm (sample-weighted 75th percentile 28 minutes). Hours with no readings are left out, not treated as zero.

Standard lane only. Average and 75th percentile are sample-weighted from observed history. A gap means that hour had no readings.

PreCheck

Historical dataset includes a PreCheck lane.

CLEAR

CLEAR is not shown. We are not using a CLEAR source.

Departure delays

Historical on-time performance. Not a live delay.

77%

On-time departures, September 2025 through August 2026. A departure is on time when it left less than 15 minutes late.

Flights out of John F. Kennedy International Airport left on time 77% of the time from September 2025 through August 2026. The largest share of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (36%). That is a share of delay minutes, not a share of flights. The average delay among departures that were 15 minutes or more late was 81 minutes. 4% of scheduled flights were cancelled.

The highest on-time month was September 2025 (85%). The lowest was July 2026 (67%).

Share of delay minutes by cause. Not a percent of flights.
Cause	Delay minutes	Share of delay minutes
late-arriving aircraft	696,093	36%
the airline	607,143	31%
the national airspace system	549,870	28%
weather	77,611	4%
security	5,299	0%

Customs and passport control

International arrivals. Not TSA security.

The current hour is filled from the customs table in this browser. It is not a TSA security wait.

Sunday
Hour	Average	Published maximum	Passengers
12am	22 min	61 min	33,752
1am	19 min	54 min	18,623
2am	16 min	41 min	9,800
3am	17 min	42 min	6,514
4am	22 min	68 min	16,749
5am	28 min	80 min	44,926
6am	29 min	68 min	33,184
7am	20 min	46 min	16,208
8am	22 min	59 min	29,977
9am	25 min	69 min	50,980
10am	25 min	66 min	65,238
11am	25 min	69 min	50,613
12pm	18 min	52 min	65,205
1pm	16 min	50 min	104,944
2pm	18 min	53 min	125,166
3pm	17 min	52 min	111,739
4pm	16 min	52 min	103,981
5pm	15 min	48 min	89,591
6pm	13 min	40 min	98,397
7pm	14 min	45 min	115,555
8pm	18 min	56 min	101,461
9pm	16 min	47 min	78,897
10pm	19 min	54 min	92,282
11pm	21 min	58 min	59,998

Monday
Hour	Average	Published maximum	Passengers
12am	17 min	44 min	34,711
1am	15 min	41 min	24,766
2am	13 min	37 min	12,111
3am	13 min	34 min	9,336
4am	16 min	50 min	16,059
5am	23 min	65 min	42,400
6am	27 min	68 min	32,946
7am	22 min	52 min	22,291
8am	17 min	44 min	26,156
9am	23 min	62 min	53,733
10am	22 min	60 min	55,854
11am	28 min	69 min	56,721
12pm	21 min	57 min	66,708
1pm	21 min	58 min	94,440
2pm	22 min	63 min	129,083
3pm	22 min	61 min	112,928
4pm	19 min	58 min	106,298
5pm	19 min	58 min	85,685
6pm	15 min	43 min	96,028
7pm	16 min	50 min	109,841
8pm	21 min	61 min	102,821
9pm	18 min	49 min	70,418
10pm	22 min	57 min	81,856
11pm	20 min	56 min	56,007

Tuesday
Hour	Average	Published maximum	Passengers
12am	18 min	55 min	33,323
1am	17 min	48 min	19,462
2am	18 min	45 min	7,690
3am	14 min	36 min	7,985
4am	17 min	53 min	12,417
5am	23 min	63 min	45,157
6am	25 min	58 min	30,272
7am	23 min	50 min	19,168
8am	22 min	63 min	28,684
9am	27 min	69 min	49,710
10am	28 min	76 min	66,859
11am	29 min	77 min	56,744
12pm	23 min	61 min	62,924
1pm	22 min	60 min	96,641
2pm	25 min	72 min	130,608
3pm	24 min	68 min	100,148
4pm	21 min	66 min	96,052
5pm	19 min	57 min	83,529
6pm	15 min	44 min	89,036
7pm	17 min	51 min	93,726
8pm	21 min	61 min	88,018
9pm	19 min	54 min	66,924
10pm	21 min	52 min	69,656
11pm	20 min	57 min	47,050

Wednesday
Hour	Average	Published maximum	Passengers
12am	19 min	53 min	31,871
1am	20 min	53 min	14,853
2am	17 min	42 min	10,216
3am	16 min	45 min	9,122
4am	19 min	60 min	16,581
5am	28 min	77 min	39,916
6am	31 min	71 min	31,735
7am	23 min	54 min	21,460
8am	24 min	62 min	23,335
9am	28 min	73 min	51,096
10am	28 min	69 min	57,162
11am	26 min	67 min	50,591
12pm	23 min	64 min	59,432
1pm	22 min	64 min	94,753
2pm	26 min	74 min	122,758
3pm	26 min	76 min	90,078
4pm	23 min	71 min	94,860
5pm	19 min	57 min	70,905
6pm	15 min	43 min	74,658
7pm	19 min	58 min	96,517
8pm	23 min	69 min	82,073
9pm	21 min	57 min	62,229
10pm	25 min	67 min	80,715
11pm	28 min	74 min	52,608

Thursday
Hour	Average	Published maximum	Passengers
12am	27 min	71 min	25,716
1am	26 min	76 min	19,654
2am	29 min	72 min	10,280
3am	16 min	38 min	3,900
4am	26 min	93 min	18,323
5am	36 min	100 min	40,360
6am	36 min	79 min	31,269
7am	27 min	59 min	19,044
8am	23 min	56 min	21,297
9am	28 min	70 min	47,240
10am	33 min	83 min	58,348
11am	33 min	80 min	48,006
12pm	26 min	70 min	51,375
1pm	23 min	67 min	85,626
2pm	27 min	76 min	113,346
3pm	27 min	76 min	89,997
4pm	26 min	80 min	89,177
5pm	24 min	76 min	83,113
6pm	21 min	64 min	84,704
7pm	24 min	73 min	90,657
8pm	29 min	81 min	80,506
9pm	26 min	68 min	61,479
10pm	29 min	71 min	71,060
11pm	29 min	77 min	58,730

Friday
Hour	Average	Published maximum	Passengers
12am	26 min	68 min	32,063
1am	23 min	56 min	18,323
2am	20 min	52 min	8,833
3am	15 min	38 min	7,663
4am	21 min	64 min	16,463
5am	32 min	80 min	38,562
6am	31 min	64 min	25,860
7am	22 min	52 min	18,982
8am	23 min	59 min	21,723
9am	31 min	79 min	46,918
10am	30 min	80 min	50,259
11am	31 min	82 min	52,698
12pm	29 min	83 min	56,897
1pm	25 min	69 min	86,453
2pm	28 min	82 min	114,747
3pm	27 min	78 min	89,878
4pm	26 min	80 min	86,727
5pm	22 min	69 min	73,823
6pm	17 min	52 min	73,834
7pm	19 min	57 min	89,689
8pm	25 min	72 min	75,024
9pm	23 min	59 min	63,590
10pm	24 min	62 min	60,770
11pm	26 min	71 min	43,039

Saturday
Hour	Average	Published maximum	Passengers
12am	24 min	65 min	27,600
1am	24 min	62 min	17,784
2am	16 min	39 min	6,980
3am	16 min	46 min	8,542
4am	21 min	65 min	14,981
5am	28 min	73 min	35,422
6am	34 min	73 min	28,862
7am	25 min	57 min	20,858
8am	23 min	60 min	27,635
9am	28 min	73 min	55,228
10am	30 min	78 min	63,722
11am	30 min	76 min	46,404
12pm	21 min	58 min	64,555
1pm	22 min	62 min	98,570
2pm	23 min	68 min	124,637
3pm	24 min	68 min	111,065
4pm	20 min	64 min	98,218
5pm	19 min	61 min	96,764
6pm	18 min	51 min	102,447
7pm	19 min	55 min	109,707
8pm	22 min	66 min	98,393
9pm	19 min	53 min	70,335
10pm	25 min	68 min	83,651
11pm	25 min	71 min	69,035

When to be at the airport

TSA's published guidance is to arrive at the airport 2 hours before a domestic departure and 3 hours before an international departure. That is guidance, not a measured security wait.

Nearby airports

Distances are straight-line miles.

Airport details

Runways: 4
Longest runway: 13R/31L, 14,511 ft
Longest runway width: 200 ft
Longest runway surface: CONC
Longest runway lighting: HIGH
Elevation: 13 ft
Control tower: Yes
CY2024 enplanements: 31,466,102
Facility use: Public
Ownership: Public
Part 139 certificate code: I E
Fuel: 100LL,A
Airframe repair: MAJOR
Powerplant repair: MAJOR
Last inspection: 2026/04/20
PreCheck: Historical dataset includes a PreCheck lane.

FAA facility record date 2026/10/01. Runways: BTS NTAD Runways. Facility facts: BTS NTAD Aviation Facilities. Enplanements: FAA CY2024 commercial service.

Questions

What is the TSA wait at JFK right now?

Observed security history for John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is listed by hour. It is not a live reading. The current hour is chosen in the browser from that table.

Does TSACheck have a live security wait for JFK?

A live figure is shown only when the stored airport feed is fresh. John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) also has observed history. A stored value that is too old is not shown as live.

How often do flights leave JFK on time?

What is the customs wait at JFK?

Customs and passport-control history is in its own section. It is not a TSA security wait. The current hour is chosen from that table in the browser.

How early should I get to JFK?

TSA's published guidance is to arrive at the airport 2 hours before a domestic departure and 3 hours before an international departure. That is guidance, not a measured security wait.

Which airports are near JFK?

The nearest airports in this list are LaGuardia Airport (LGA), 11 straight-line miles; Teterboro Airport (TEB), 21 straight-line miles; Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), 21 straight-line miles; Westchester County Airport (HPN), 30 straight-line miles; Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP), 37 straight-line miles.