I defy anyone in a wheelchair to get from Terminal 6 in JFK to any other terminal using the AirTrain (sometime called the SkyTrain), without asking for assistance. There are absolutely no signs indicating where to go. You arrive off your plane and head towards the exits. There are signs for baggage claim (don't want that, my bags are checked through), taxis (don't want those, I'm just changing terminals), ground transport (nope, not renting a car or getting a bus) and parking (no - no car here). But for the AirTrain or other terminals? Not a hint. The map is no good either, it is just a map of terminal 6.
If you do ask someone who looks official, they will point you to a door discreetly located past some restaurants, down a narrow corridor and suddenly you are through a double door (locked - but there is a TSA official who will open it for you) into the ticketing area on the land side of security. There you turn right and spot the very tiny sign pointing to elevators to the AirTrain.
Apart from the difficulty in finding it, the AirTrain is very accessible and easy to use. Easy to roll on, plenty of space on-board. The only challenge is trying to figure out which platform to use to get to the terminal you want. The secret is to listen carefully to the announcements as the train enters the station. Be careful. Boarding the wrong train will lose you a lot of time. Once who have boarded, look at the map on board and pay attention to the announcements to reassure yourself you are going the right way.
Sure beats the old JFK where I was once manually carried on some shoulders to get from one terminal to the other, while another person carried my chair!!
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