How Early Should You Leave for JFK, LGA, and EWR?
A practical leave-by guide for New York's three big airports, built on typical car drive times by hour of day.
Most missed flights aren't missed at the airport — they're missed in the car, because someone planned an 8 AM JFK run like it was an 11 PM one. Here's how to think about leave-by time using real drive-time patterns.
Start from the drive time, not the distance
JFK is only about 17 miles from Midtown, but that leg swings from ~35 minutes off-peak to well over an hour in an evening rush. LGA is the most forgiving; EWR adds a river crossing that punishes peak hours. Our calculator shows the swing for any hour you pick.
Rule-of-thumb buffers (domestic)
- LGA: drive time + 90 min at the curb.
- JFK: drive time + 120 min — more on a peak departure bank.
- EWR: drive time + 120 min, and pad the drive itself during 4–7 PM.
For international, add 30–45 minutes. The advantage of a tracked chauffeur is that pickup is set off your flight and the live drive time, not a guess — which is why a professional dispatch desk owns the buffer math on booked rides.
The hours to avoid
Weekday 7–9 AM and 4–7 PM are the worst windows out of all three airports. If you can shift a meeting to leave at 10 AM instead of 8, you can cut a JFK run by a third.
Need a car on the clock?
Reserve online or reach NYC dispatch directly — quoted flat, met on time.