JFK Terminal 5 map: gates 501 to 530, walk times

JFK Terminal 5 map: how JetBlue's terminal is laid out

The JFK Terminal 5 map is the friendliest at the airport: one building, gates numbered 501 to 530, and no published walk longer than 10 minutes. The catches are new ones, from JetBlue flights that board next door at Terminal 6 to rideshare pickup temporarily moved off the terminal entirely. This page lays out the building, pins the landmarks, and flags what the rebuild has moved.

On this page (5 sections)

The shape of the building
Gates and walk times
Finding the landmarks
AirTrain, curb and parking
Routing to your gate

The shape of the building

Terminal 5 opened in 2008 as JetBlue's home, and the sequence through it is check-in, a single security operation for the whole terminal, the dining and shopping stretch, then the gates, numbered 501 to 530. Every published walk time is measured from that one checkpoint. The Port Authority counts 29 gates, the T5i extension added a 145,000 square foot international arrivals wing at the end of 2014, and the landmark 1962 TWA Flight Center stands in front of the building, joined to it by the flight tubes.

Diagram of the JFK Terminal 5 map: check-in and security in the middle of the building, the three gate blocks 501 to 507, 508 to 521 and 522 to 530 with their walk times from security, and the TWA Flight Center landside in front — Terminal 5 laid out in its three published gate blocks. The 508 to 521 stretch is the deepest, so a gate in the 520s is a shorter walk than one in the 510s.

Two things date any older mental map. The gates now carry 500-series numbers, 501 to 530, so signage and boarding passes read differently from the single digits older guides mention. And the terminal is mid-refresh, with more than 40 new venues rolling in through the end of 2026, so expect hoarding somewhere and a better terminal behind it. The Terminal 5 guide covers the airlines and the rebuild's timeline.

Gates and walk times, as the terminal publishes them

The terminal's own walk-time table, measured from security:

Gates 501 to 507: 3 to 5 minutes
Gates 508 to 521: 5 to 10 minutes
Gates 522 to 530: 3 to 7 minutes

Read as a map: the low 500s and the high 520s bracket the checkpoint at a few minutes each, and the 508 to 521 stretch runs deepest, at up to 10 minutes. There is no bad gate here by JFK standards; Terminal 4's far concourse runs to 14 minutes and Terminal 5 never passes 10.

The one routing surprise is next door. Some JetBlue flights board from Terminal 6 gates while every passenger still checks in and clears security at Terminal 5, because Terminal 6 is opening in phases and no airline checks in there yet. If your gate does not read like a 5xx number, do not leave the building in a panic: follow the signs onward from the Terminal 5 concourse and allow a few extra minutes. The Terminal 6 guide explains the arrangement.

Finding the landmarks

Terminal 5's pinned landmarks cluster in the 520s. BlueHouse, JetBlue's lounge, sits across from gate 526, and the free Rooftop and Wooftop deck is across from Gate 528, both past security in the 3 to 7 minute band. The T5 Marketplace seating area anchors the dining stretch, with Eataly, Nom Wah and The Halal Guys among the venues around it; the Terminal 5 food guide places the lineup, and the lounges guide covers who gets into BlueHouse.

On the landside, the TWA Flight Center connects through the Saarinen flight tubes, no boarding pass required, with the TWA Hotel built around it. It is the obvious meeting point, send-off room and architecture stop, and it is strictly a before-security destination: once you clear the checkpoint it is behind you. The TWA Flight Center guide covers the building.

AirTrain, curb and parking

The AirTrain stops at Terminal 5 on the airport loop: free between terminals, under 10 minutes terminal to terminal with trains every 5 to 15, and the $8.75 fare charged only at the Jamaica and Howard Beach exits. The AirTrain guide covers the connections to the subway and the Long Island Rail Road.

The curb comes with a live exception: the airport's own advisory says ride app pickup for Terminal 5 has temporarily relocated to the Howard Beach AirTrain Station because of construction. Arriving passengers meeting an Uber or Lyft ride the AirTrain out first; the ride inside the loop is free, but budget the minutes. The advisory is explicitly temporary, so check the airport's guidance on the day. Taxis and private pickups follow the terminal's posted curbs.

Parking is the Yellow Lot facing the terminal, at $89 for 24 hours at the gate and from $74 prebooked, with height limits of 8 feet 2 inches on level A and 7 feet 6 inches above. The Long-Term Parking Lot at $55 undercuts it by $34 a day at the cost of an AirTrain ride. The JFK parking guide carries every rate and rule.

Routing to your gate

For a specific gate, counter or venue that is open today, use the airport's interactive map at maps.jfkairport.com. Gate assignments move daily, the refresh keeps opening new doors, and the Terminal 6 gate arrangement is exactly the kind of detail a live tool tracks better than any page. What stays put is the building's shape, the 5xx numbering, the walk bands and the landmarks above.

For the whole airport in one view, the six terminals, the AirTrain loop and the lots, see the JFK airport map guide.

Frequently asked questions

How are the gates numbered at JFK Terminal 5?

In the 500s: the walk-time table published for Terminal 5 runs from gate 501 to gate 530. If your boarding pass says gate 526, that is Terminal 5, not a terminal called 52. The Port Authority counts the terminal at 29 gates; the numbering and the count come from different documents, and this page reports both rather than reconciling them.

How long is the walk to the gates at Terminal 5?

Never long. The terminal quotes 3 to 5 minutes from security to gates 501 to 507, 5 to 10 minutes to gates 508 to 521, and 3 to 7 minutes to gates 522 to 530. The 508 to 521 stretch carries the longest published walk, and even that tops out at 10 minutes.

Why does my JetBlue flight from Terminal 5 board at Terminal 6?

Terminal 6 is opening in phases next door and JetBlue is signed to move there, while all check-in and security stay at Terminal 5. No airline checks in at Terminal 6 yet, so Terminal 5 remains the front door. Clear security as normal, then follow the signs to your gate.

Where does the TWA Hotel connect to Terminal 5?

On the landside, before security, through the Saarinen flight tubes from the 1962 TWA Flight Center. You do not need a boarding pass, which makes it the best waiting room for meeters and early arrivals. Airside and landside do not mix: once you clear security, the hotel is behind you.

Where do Uber and Lyft pick up at Terminal 5?

Not at the terminal, for now. An advisory on the official Terminal 5 page says ride app pickup has temporarily relocated to the Howard Beach AirTrain Station because of construction, which means a free AirTrain ride before you meet the car. The arrangement is explicitly temporary, so check the live guidance on the day you fly.