For nine days in November 2026, there is no A train service between Rockaway Blvd and Ozone Park Lefferts Blvd in Queens while the MTA modernises signals on the A line. The closure runs from 00:30 on Saturday 7 November to 05:00 on Monday 16 November 2026.
It matters to air travelers for one reason: Howard Beach JFK Airport station, the AirTrain connection for the cheapest ride into Manhattan, sits on this line. The detail of the reroute is reassuring, but it is worth reading before you land, while you are still clear headed.
What is happening
Trains that would normally end at Lefferts Blvd are rerouted through Howard Beach JFK Airport station instead, and free shuttle buses cover the closed local stops. Because Lefferts Blvd trains are being sent via Howard Beach, the airport station keeps its A train service while the works run.
The disruption falls on the local stops beyond the airport station, and on journey times if your trip starts or ends in that stretch of Queens. Allow extra time at busy hours and follow the MTA service alerts on the day.
How to read the change when you land: follow the AirTrain to Howard Beach as normal, and board the A train there as normal. The shuttles exist for the closed stops, a stretch of local Queens stations that most airport travelers never use. Only travelers whose final destination is one of those stops need a different plan; for them, the shuttle adds a leg, so allow for it rather than discover it at midnight with luggage.
The works run through two weekends, including the weekends of 7 to 8 and 14 to 15 November, so this is not a weekday only story. They end well before Thanksgiving week and the Macy’s parade on 26 November, so holiday arrivals are not affected. This is a closures story, not a strike: the rest of the subway, and the AirTrain itself, run as normal.
Getting there after you land
JFK is the main international gateway for New York City. From your terminal station, the AirTrain runs to Jamaica for the E train to Midtown, or to Howard Beach for the A train to Lower Manhattan. You pay the AirTrain fare as you exit at Jamaica or Howard Beach, and the subway fare covers the rest.
AirTrain and subway Cheapest
The default for most arrivals: cheap, frequent, and the subway it connects to runs 24 hours a day.
Taxi, flat rate Fastest
One flat price from JFK to any Manhattan address, worth it with heavy bags or three or more people.
Shared shuttle
It drops you at your hotel door, but the multi stop route makes it the slow way into town.
Pre-booked transfer
A driver waits in arrivals with your name on a sign, and a delayed flight does not change the price.
If your plans cannot absorb any uncertainty, the door to door alternative never changes: the flat rate taxi from the official rank outside every terminal. Every option, priced and compared side by side, is on our JFK to Manhattan transfer page.
The full first hour: New York City guide
The ride in, the first subway tap, where to stay and what to eat first, all in one place.
Where to stay, and getting around
The guide’s three first night picks cover three budgets. Splurge is The Plaza, at 768 Fifth Avenue on the corner of Central Park. Sweet spot is Arlo SoHo, at 231 Hudson Street. Budget is HI New York City Hostel, at 891 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side, with dorms and private rooms.
All three sit in Manhattan, so the flat rate taxi covers the run to any of their doors. Midtown bases put the E train from Jamaica on your side; SoHo suits the A train from Howard Beach, the route still running through this closure.
The first hour, sorted
Paying for the subway is simple: tap your phone or a contactless card at the OMNY readers, at $2.90 per ride, with a $34 weekly cap, so after 12 rides the rest are free. The subway runs 24 hours a day and reaches all five boroughs, and buses are also $2.90 where they fill the gaps.
For data, get an Airalo eSIM before you fly, so you are online as the plane taxis in. Cards work everywhere, including the subway, but keep $20 to $40 in cash for food carts, tips and small vendors.
For a first meal, keep it simple: a pizza slice or a bagel with lox from a corner deli, eaten standing up. The guide’s named slice is Joe’s Pizza at 7 Carmine Street in the West Village, at $3.50.
Once the closure dates are in your diary, start with the events calendar for what else is on during your stay, and use plan your trip to line up the rest of the visit around it.
Midtown, Brooklyn and Central Park: the city beyond the closed stretch of the A line is running as normal.
Get the New York City first hour checklist by email
The ride in, the first ticket and the first meal, in the New York City guide PDF you can read on the plane.
The checklist, free, from After You Land.
What else is on
The events calendar tracks every guided city, strikes and stoppages included.
Events calendarLine up the rest
Plan your trip pulls the guide, the stays and the bookings for this trip into one place.
Plan your trip
