The short answer
Teterboro is the default for Manhattan at twelve miles from midtown, subject to a 100,000 lb weight limit and a night curfew. Westchester serves the northern suburbs and Connecticut far better and has a strictly enforced 11pm to 6:30am curfew. Morristown covers western New Jersey, Republic covers Long Island, and Farmingdale is the closest to Nassau County. Choosing on ground time rather than habit is usually worth more than choosing on aircraft.
Note. Rewritten in 2026 from the original 2021 list into something operationally useful.
Teterboro (TEB) — the default
Twelve miles from midtown and the densest concentration of business aviation in the United States. If your destination is Manhattan, this is usually the answer.
Watch for: a 100,000 lb maximum takeoff weight restriction, which rules out some ultra-long-range aircraft, and a voluntary night curfew. Neither affects the aircraft most clients fly, but both should be checked against your specific trip rather than discovered at the gate.
Full detail: private jet charter, Teterboro.
Westchester County (HPN) — for the north and east
Serves Westchester, Greenwich and Fairfield County considerably better than Teterboro, and it is meaningfully quieter.
Watch for: a strictly enforced 11pm to 6:30am curfew. It is not voluntary and it is not negotiable, and it catches people who assume it works like Teterboro’s.
Full detail: private jet charter, White Plains.
Morristown (MMU) — for western New Jersey
Excellent for Morris, Somerset and Essex counties, and considerably less congested than Teterboro. If you are heading west of the Hudson rather than into the city, it is frequently the better field and rarely the one people ask for.
Republic (FRG), Farmingdale — for Long Island
The main general aviation field for Nassau and western Suffolk. If your destination is Long Island, using Teterboro means adding a drive through the city, which is a poor trade at almost any hour.
Long Island MacArthur (ISP) — for eastern Long Island
Further out, and the right answer for eastern Suffolk and as a stepping stone toward the East End.
The principle underneath all of this
Choose the airport by ground time, not by habit or by name recognition.
A twenty-minute saving in the air is routinely wiped out by forty extra minutes in a car, and the New York area is where this happens most. The question is never “which is the famous one” — it is “which one is closest to the place I am actually going, at the hour I am actually arriving”.
Tell us the address rather than the airport when you call. We will tell you which field is genuinely faster, including when the answer is not the one you expected.
Related questions
While we are here.
Which airport is closest to Manhattan for private jets?
Teterboro, at about twelve miles from midtown. Traffic on the approach roads is the variable rather than the distance, and at the wrong hour Westchester can genuinely be faster for an Upper East Side destination.
Does Teterboro have a curfew?
A voluntary night-time curfew and a 100,000 lb maximum takeoff weight restriction. Neither affects most aircraft private travelers use, and both are worth confirming against your specific trip in advance.