My daughter will be arriving on an international flight into Terminal 4 and will need to proceed to Terminal 5 to check her bag and get her boarding pass for her domestic flight home. All of this will need to be accomplished at about 11pm which has me a bit unsettled as it appears that the terminals are not connected.
We have no familiarity with JFK so I am requesting advice on what would be the best/safest way for her to accomplish this.
Easy to move between JFK terminals for free on the AirTrain: http://www.panynj.gov/airports/jfk-airtrain.html
She will need to pick up her luggages, go through custom and re-check her luggages for the domestic flight.
It’s easy and SAFE to go from the terminal to the Air Train. Terminal 4 and 5 are one stop apart - all she needs to do is stand on the correct side of the platform. JFK is pretty much daytime active at 11 pm. Welcome home to your D!
The train is quiet, safe, well lighted and people are pleasant. She will be fine!
Agreed. Even at 11 pm, terminal 4 is fairly busy as there are several high capacity flights to TLV, AMS, DXB, among others.
As would be the case at any terminal, and any US airport.
As others have said, the AirTrain is very quick and efficient.
There are different procedure depending on how your daughter’s ticket is booked.
Is your daughter’s trip booked as:
- One reservation (i.e. one reservation code for the entire trip), or
- Separate reservations (i.e. a reservation code for airlineA and a different reservation code for airlineB)?
**1) One reservation **
The ticket is likely to be a “code share”. When she checks in at the originating airport, she will probably receive:
- boarding passes for each segment of her journey, and
- her checked bags will be tagged to the final destination
When she arrives at JFK, she follows all the other passenger to Immigration, where she:
- goes thru passport control
- then goes to the baggage carrousel to claim her checked bags
- proceeds to Customs with all her baggage to allow them the opportunity to inspect her bags
- proceeds to the Baggage Re-check station where she drops her checked bag off to be forwarded to the connecting airplane (She needs to check that her bag has the destination airport on the bag-tag)
- exits the secure zone
- proceeds to the SkyTrain platform (it’s an elevated track, so she’ll likely need to ride an escalator or elevator to get to the platform). The SkyTrain is free to ride to the other airport terminals.
If she already has boarding pass(es) for her connecting flight(s), then she can proceed directly to security to enjoy the TSA circus, then head to her departure gate.
If she doesn’t have a boarding pass, then she need to go to the other airline’s check in counter to get one.
2) Separate reservations. When she checks in at the originating airport, she will only get a boarding pass for the flight that is booked under that reservation code. Depending on whether the 2 airlines have an “interline” agreement, they may or may not tag her bag to the final destination. Even if they will tag it to the final destination, I advise against it. If something happens to the bag in transfer, then each airline will blame the other leaving her little recourse for damage claims. I strongly advise only tagging the bag to JFK.
When she arrives at JFK, she follows all the other passenger to Immigration, where she:
1) goes thru passport control - then goes to the baggage carrousel to claim her checked bags
- proceeds to Customs with all her baggage to allow them the opportunity to inspect her bags
- SKIPS the baggage re-check station
- exits the secure zone TAKING ALL HER BAGGAGE WITH HER
- proceeds to the SkyTrain platform (it’s an elevated track, so she’ll likely need to ride an escalator or elevator). The SkyTrain is free to ride to the other airport terminals.
- goes to the other airline’s check in counter to get boarding passes and to check her luggage
I just want to add to the GMT’s comprehensive guide that if your daughter buys anything that is not normally allowed through TSA (like spray deodorant or alcohol) in the departure area abroad before boarding her US-bound flight she will have to make sure to re-pack these items into her checked luggage at JFK before checking it back.
Thank you everyone for providing the needed information. 
@GMTplus7 My daughter does have separate reservations and will not have her bag checked through so scenario 2 would be applicable. I am beyond grateful for the extensive step by step information you provided. The amount of time you took to provide the comprehensive answer is not unnoticed. Many thanks for your help.
As an aside, congratulations on being paroled from CC jail. Slimming as they were, I’m glad to see you out of the stripes. B-)
How much time does she have on the ground at JFK? For transferring to another airline, I feel comfortable budgetting at least 3 hrs.
@GMTplus7 She has ample time on the ground. Her international flight will arrive around 9pm and the domestic flight will not depart until close to 6am. We estimated by the time she had claimed her bag and made it through customs it would put her close to 11pm and proceeding to work her way to Terminal 5.
JFK T5 is JetBlue?
Keep in mind that the JetBue check-in counters may be closed during the wee hours of the night, and there may be slim pickings for 24/7 restaurants on the “street side” of security. (I face this a lot when I have int’l trips w awkward connecting times).
She might want to pack a snack or buy something before most of the shops/restaurants close for the night.
FYI: T5 amenities (they’re not all 24/7)
http://www.panynj.gov/airports/jfk-shops-restaurants-services.html
Yes, it is JetBlue and if I have read correctly ticket counter hours will be open until Midnight before closing for roughly 2 hours. Thank you for the amenities link
@GMTplus7 thank you for your help, my daughter successfully negotiated her way to Terminal 5 in the wee hours today.
It was my pleasure!