One map, pinned from each airport’s published coordinates.
Category scores
Overall is the published weighted sum. A highlighted score is ahead; a tie stays plain.
Ease of use
25% · Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
HPN8.5+1.7
JFK6.8
Comfort & amenities
20% · Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
HPN6.6
JFK7.0+0.4
Food & retail
15% · Food and retail quality and variety.
HPN6.2
JFK7.5+1.3
Ground access
15% · Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
HPN7.4
JFK7.8+0.4
Reliability
15% · Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
HPN6.8
JFK7.0+0.2
Lounges
10% · Worth-it density and access quality.
HPN2.0
JFK7.3+5.3
Best for
HPN
Hudson Valley / Fairfield County trips that can skip LGA and JFKjetBlue Florida and San Juan nonstops from a one-building fieldDomestic departures that can follow the official 2-hour clock
JFK
International connectionsLounge varietyPublic transit accessFood options
Watch out for
HPN
No passenger lounge — do not buy a third-party Escape HPN passAirside food is limited; official copy says eat before TSAGarage is $36.47/day; long-term $20.88 only after 72 hours if booked onlineCLEAR+ lanes were stamped closed; enrollment by bags is not a skip-the-line product
JFK
Writing T7 off — Frontier, Aer Lingus, ANA, Air Canada, and Norse still use itAssuming Terminal 6 is open (first gates still a 2026 construction target)Virgin Clubhouse Priority Pass is 05:00–13:30 onlyLufthansa Priority Pass is Tuesday/Wednesday evenings only until further noticeTaxi is $70 plus listed surcharges, not $70 all-in
Amenities and tips
HPN
One building, four live gates, unpublished TSA hoursNo passenger loungeLandside coffee shop, bar, and airfield-view restaurantFree Wi-Fi; fillers unpublishedPreCheck enrollment by bags; CLEAR+ lanes closedBee-Line 12 at $3; Metro-North is downtown
Arrive 2 hours early — TSA hours are unpublished
Official homepage and airlines page ask for at least two hours. Official screening pages do not print checkpoint clock hours or a wait tile.
One building, four live gates, 240-pax half-hour cap
Ticketing, TSA, and the holdroom share one 96,000 sq ft terminal. Wikipedia reprint six gates / four at a time matches the Terminal Use Regulations.
Eat before TSA — airside kitchens are limited
Official terminal-services card names a coffee shop, a bar, and a full-service restaurant overlooking the airfield, and warns that not all of that is past security.
JFK
Wi-FiLoungesFoodTransportFamilyAccessibility
Arrive 3 hours early for international
Security waits average 20–30 minutes but spike in T4/T5 afternoons.
Use AirTrain — do not walk between terminals
AirTrain runs 24/7 between terminals with no fare inside the airport.
T4 has the widest landside and airside spread
Landside options in T4 and T5 beat airside crowds for a quick meal.
HPN · White Plains put 2,303,474 people through a 96,000 sq ft, four-gate field in 2025: easy when you use the two-hour clock, eat before TSA, tap OMNY on Bee-Line 12, and accept there is still no lounge.
JFK · New York’s primary international gateway is still a five-terminal airport: 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8. Official 2025 traffic is 62,629,455. Terminal 7 remains open; Terminal 6 has not opened. Live Priority Pass is mostly T1 plus a morning Virgin window and an Air India T4 room — Chase Sapphire and Capital One are not PP.
