Reason to Avoid JFK #1 ... and #2

I'm flying to AMS via DTW rather than JFK. Sure, DTW has all the charm of a convention center, but I figured trying to connect through JFK on a summer afternoon wasn't a smart idea. There's reason #1.

Turns out, this decision was unusually prescient, since they're gonna be short a runway for a few months...

AP: JFK runway closure to rattle nerves, wallets 

With about one-third of JFK's traffic and half of its departures being diverted to three smaller runways, planes will wait on longer lines on the ground for takeoffs and in the air for landings. Delays at one of the nation's largest airports will ripple to cities across the U.S., including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orlando.

[snip]

JFK is already one of the nation's most delay-plagued airports. [emphasis mine] It ranked 28th out of 31 major airports in 2009 in on-time performance, according to the Department of Transportation. A delay at JFK, especially one early in the morning, can push back flights across the U.S.

The longest delays occur at peak hours — from about 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. ET and between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.