Question about JFK and flying on one ticket on Delta to Rome

Are you booking directly with Delta? If you really would rather be on the early morning flight, you could call and ask if you could book that one with the Rome flight instead.

At various times due to injuries or surgeries we have had assistance booked with a wheelchair and attendant to take one of us to another gate or terminal.

I have never connected through JFK, but research tells me Delta flies exclusively out of Terminal 4.

Delta actually also operates out of Terminal 2 at JFK. In fact, looking at the recent days' schedules, all of Delta's Tampa-JFK flights have landed at T2 -- generally this is pretty indicative that your Tampa-JFK flight will also land at T2, although you can't be 100% sure because Delta can change the terminal for operational reasons up until the last minute.

For transferring from T2 to T4, there is a Jitney bus inside security that takes you from gate C60 in Terminal 2 to gates B18 and B54 in Terminal 4 -- this is the only way to transfer between terminals 2 and 4 without re-clearing security, as they are two physically separate buildings that are not connected.

There is another one at 7:40pm with Delta partner ITA so there’s that.

Be aware that ITA Airways (the resurrection of Alitalia) flies out of Terminal 1 at JFK. A Terminal 4 -> Terminal 1 transfer will require you to take the AirTrain from T4 to T1 and then re-clear security in T1 -- as far as I know there is no T4<>T1 transfer route inside security.

If your flight arrives at 2:50pm that's plenty of time to make the terminal transfer, but it's just something you should be aware of.

I should also note that the plan is eventually to close JFK T2 (which is a small, outdated, and generally lackluster facility) as part of an overhaul of the airport's terminals, but the construction for this project has just begun and I can't find a firm date when T2 is scheduled to close.

So until/unless you see that there is a firm date for T2's closure, you should assume that it is possible for Delta flights to operate in and out of T2.

Providing wheelchair assistance/service when flying with Delta airlines is something that I always obtain for my mother. In our experience to date no fee has ever been associated with it. We request the service at the checkin counter and it is provided throughout the duration of the domestic itinerary. The experiences thus far have been excellent. We have not used it upon arrival at an international destination so I cannot address that aspect.

Thank you, Andrew, for your details! I got stuck going through security again when I landed in JFK from Rome and transferred to a Seattle flight in June. I was taking stairs (along with other people) and walking through a parking lot or something similar. Once I saw other people just arriving to the airport, I knew I would be going through security again.

It’s my experience that you always have to go through security again when making a domestic connection on the return trip to the USA. Thankfully I live in Chicago so those are rare for me.

It’s my experience that you always have to go through security again when making a domestic connection on the return trip to the USA.

Yep, this is universally the case, unless you are arriving from a preclearance destination (i.e. major Canadian airports, Dublin, Abu Dhabi, some Caribbean airports).

Because you have access to the baggage claim area after clearing passport control, you have to get rescreened to make sure you have no items allowed in checked bags but prohibited in the airside area, e.g. knives.

So I should clarify my notes above were about the outbound (Tampa > JFK > Rome) -- in this direction, you can avoid security during the connection by taking the Jitney between T2 and T4 (and of course if the connection is all within T4 it's just a matter of walking from one gate to another).

On the return (Rome > JFK > Tampa), if that's indeed the itinerary, there is no way to avoid the security rescreening at JFK, which as Dale says, would be the case for any US airport in which an international > domestic connection is made.

Thanks for the clarification about the security area. My route through the airport seemed like I was doing something wrong since I was walking outside and back into another building. I actually called my husband who was at home and asked him to verify my terminal & gate on-line, too, before I walked out of the first building.

Go on the Delta website and select an earlier flight from TPA to JFK and see what the price would be along with your flight to FCO. The later in the day you fly, the more likely there will be delays so I think that 1 hr 25 minutes is too tight.

Others have told you about Terminal 2. If you land there, you can always take the jitney (a shuttle) to Terminal 4. You will not have to deal with security because the jitney is only between those two terminals after security.

JFK is my home airport and Delta the airline I fly most often so I know terminal 4 like the back of my hand. You may want Wheelchair Service because it might be a very long walk between your arriving gate from TPA and your departure gate for FCO.

If you want special assistance, when you buy your ticket online, request Wheelchair Service.

“ It’s my experience that you always have to go through security again when making a domestic connection on the return trip to the USA. Thankfully I live in Chicago so those are rare for me.”

This is NOT the case at JFK between Terminals 4 & 2. The jitney is post security and that is a huge convenience. Don’t confuse the jitney which connects only those two terminals with the Airtrain that connects all terminals along with Jamaica and Howard Beach.

“ It’s my experience that you always have to go through security again when making a domestic connection on the return trip to the USA. Thankfully I live in Chicago so those are rare for me.”

This is NOT the case at JFK between Terminals 4 & 2. The jitney is post security and that is a huge convenience. Don’t confuse the jitney which connects only those two terminals with the Airtrain that connects all terminals along with Jamaica and Howard Beach.

No, this is the case.

To be clear -- this is when you are transiting at JFK from an international to a domestic flight -- for example, Rome > JFK > Tampa. (As the post you quoted says, it's the "return trip" to the USA, so in the international>domestic direction.)

When you land at JFK from an international flight, you don't deplane straight into the gate area, as you would from a domestic flight. You are channeled to passport control, then through baggage claim (which is separate from domestic baggage claim), then through customs. Once you've cleared customs, at that point you can either continue to exit to ground transport to your final destination, or re-enter the gate area.

But to re-enter the gate area you need to re-clear security (and drop off your checked bags at the re-check area if applicable). This is applicable even if your next flight is in T4 -- you have had access to checked bags in the baggage claim area and thus need to be re-screened.

Edited to add -- if you then want to take the jitney from T4 to T2, there's no security between the two terminals. But to get back into the T4 gate area to take the jitney in the first place, you'll need to re-clear security after US immigration and customs.

As I mentioned in my post above, in the other direction if you are transiting at JFK from a domestic to an international flight -- for example, Chicago > JFK > Paris -- the jitney does allow you to skip security. But not in the other direction.

The OP is concerned about the flight from Tampa to Rome, transferring at JFK from a domestic flight to an international flight, so some of this not relevant to her situation.