JFK Airport
Where weapons fly out, and where workers can ground them. Demanding an arms embargo at the Port Authority of NY & NJ.
🔍 Why JFK Airport matters
JFK, the busiest air-cargo gateway in the New York region, is operated by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, a public agency accountable to public pressure. In September 2025, Mondoweiss documented JFK's "hidden arms pipeline to Israel": military and dual-use cargo moving out through the airport's freight terminals on cargo airlines, booked by freight forwarders, carrying components from weapons manufacturers, many based in the New York metro area.
✈️ What moves through JFK
The Jersey City warehouse that handles the bulk of Israel-bound military cargo ships its air volume out through Newark and JFK, and its sea volume through Port Elizabeth.
In May 2025, The Intercept reported a Challenge Airlines flight carrying 14 tons of nitrocellulose explosive bound for IMI Systems near Tel Aviv. In July 2025, Mondoweiss verified at least six arms shipments from JFK to Israel over three weeks, including a Lockheed Martin bomb-release unit headed for Nevatim Air Base.
Source: Drop Site News investigation (cited on the Jersey City Warehouse page).
📊 JFK in the trade data
Individual shipments are the visible part. The customs ledger shows the scale behind them: Israel takes 4.51% of everything JFK exports, worth $960 million, and JFK ranks first in trade with Israel among every U.S. airport and seaport, holding a 32.25% share of it.
Weapons and military categories in JFK's export mix, across all destinations:
- Bombs, grenades, and cartridges: 0.89% of JFK's exports, $106.2 million
- Aircraft engines and parts: 0.93%, $111.1 million
- Firearm parts and accessories: 0.22%, $26.7 million
- Military weapons, excluding pistols: 0.04%, $4.9 million
- Military apparel and equipment: 0.07%, $9.0 million
- Tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and parts: 0.05%, $6.1 million
Source: USA Trade Numbers, John F. Kennedy International Airport, compiled by WorldCity from U.S. Census Bureau trade data.
🏢 Complicit companies routed through JFK
Every company below has been verified and confirmed by our research team. Each links to its full profile with role, location, evidence, and sources, pulled live from the audited database.
Logistics
Cargo Airline
Defense Contractor
Ammunition & Explosives
❓ Questions about this chokepoint
What weapons move through JFK Airport?
Documented shipments through JFK include 14 tons of nitrocellulose explosives flown to IMI Systems in May 2025, the largest single explosives shipment recorded through the airport (The Intercept), and regular cargo flights carrying F-35 components and Lockheed Martin BRU-68 bomb release units (The Ditch; Mondoweiss). Between July 2 and July 23, 2025 alone, six or more verified arms shipments departed JFK. Every claim here is attributed to published investigative reporting and recorded in the campaign's open database.
Which companies ship military cargo through JFK Airport?
Break the Chain's audited database documents 8 companies with a sourced role in military cargo at JFK, including Challenge Airlines, whose flights carried the May 2025 nitrocellulose shipment and Lockheed Martin BRU-68 bomb release units (The Intercept; The Ditch), and Kalitta Air, which operated cargo flights to Israel's Nevatim Air Force Base (Haaretz). Each company is listed on this page with a profile of the published evidence and source links.
Where do the arms shipments from JFK go?
Documented flights typically transit through Liège, Belgium before continuing to Tel Aviv or Israeli air bases (The Ditch; RTBF), and cargo flights have been tracked arriving at Nevatim Air Force Base in Israel (Haaretz). Belgian reporting has documented more than 70 tons of military materiel bound for Israel transiting Liège's Bierset airport since October 7, 2023 (RTBF).
How are these shipments documented?
Every entry comes from published investigative reporting and public records: The Intercept's May 2025 investigation into explosives shipped through JFK, The Ditch's flight-tracking reporting, Haaretz's open-source analysis of U.S. arms airlifts, and Mondoweiss's coverage of the JFK arms pipeline. A company appears in the database only when an already-published source documents its role; each claim is attributed to that source, not asserted. The full dataset is published openly under CC0 on the tracker.
📢 What's Happening
A petition demanding the Port Authority end military shipments through JFK has drawn airport workers, unions including NYSNA nurses, and community organizations into a coalition holding pickets at the airport.
Most recently, on July 9, 2025, organizers picketed JFK against a shipment of Elbit Systems parts bound for Israel. The Port Authority, MTA, and NYPD responded with a coordinated lockdown that restricted terminal access and barred press from the airport grounds (Mondoweiss).
📚 Resources & Actions
✊ How to Get Involved
- Sign the petition: add your name to Arms Embargo Now, demanding the Port Authority end military shipments through JFK.
- Spread the word: share what is happening at JFK with coworkers and neighbors, and follow @breakthechain4pal for upcoming pickets and actions.
- Get connected: fill out the Break the Chain onboarding form to plug into local organizing.
🗺️ Other Campaigns
Newark Airport
Organizing against military logistics at Newark Liberty. The same Port Authority that runs JFK runs Newark, and the same public pressure can reach it.
View Campaign → Active CampaignJersey City Warehouse
The largest civilian warehouse in the U.S. storing weapons shipped to Israel. One commercial building in a residential neighborhood, feeding both the airports and the port.
View Campaign → Active CampaignPort Elizabeth
Challenging arms shipments through one of America's largest container ports. The sea route where Maersk and ZIM load Israel-bound military cargo, and where longshoremen can refuse it.
View Campaign → Active CampaignBrooklyn Navy Yard
Exposing the military-industrial connections hiding inside Brooklyn's historic shipyard. A public industrial park should not be a node in the arms supply chain.
View Campaign →