What is the best time of day to fly into JFK?

Best Times to Get In and Out of JFK and LaGuardia Airports When traveling through JFK or LaGuardia you need to plan your travel to take advantage of the traffic and the airline's on time arrivals. By far the best time to travel through any airport is typically the early morning, especially between 6-8 AM.



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For international travel, many carriers suggest arriving at the airport at least three hours prior to the departure time. For domestic, the general rule is at least two hours. And if you get to the gate quickly, that's not a bad thing. You can relax, have a bite to eat at our concessions—they're open!

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How long does it take to get through JFK customs? The average security wait time at JFK is 16 minutes, according to Upgraded Points. Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to noon are good days for JFK airport security lines. The worst security queues at JFK are on Fridays between 2–3 p.m., when you may have to wait up to 35 minutes.

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Just like us after a night of good sleep, airline circulation is freshest in the morning. If your flight departs in the morning, you are less likely to be affected by delays that stack up during the day and push back or cancel departure times.

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Most people don't like the time wake-up times required to hit the earliest flights out of the airport, so a “first flight of the day” oftentimes offers less packed airplanes as well as easy breezy airport concourses. As a bonus, the early morning flights almost always have the best on-time records.

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Jet lag is a type of fatigue caused by travelling across different time zones. The body needs anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to acclimatise to the new time zone – approximately one day for each hour of time zone changes.

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Beyond delays and cancelations, early morning flights have the added perk of being less prone to turbulence. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, most thunderstorms tend to occur in the afternoon.

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Navigating at night can actually be much easier than during the day. Large conurbations and their associated street lights can be seen from miles away. Making it easy to pinpoint them and fly towards them. Roads are also much easier to pick out against the surrounding terrain.

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