A journalist at New York's JFK airport reported people were evacuated after a suspected shooting at one of the terminals.

New York police are investigating reports of gunshots fired inside a terminal at John F Kennedy International Airport but there is no confirmation shots were fired and no reports of injuries, local media and authorities say.

An evacuation of JFK's Terminal 8 was under way on Sunday evening after the reports of gunfire in the departures area, CNN reported on its website, quoting a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.

The evacuation was a precaution, Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo told CNN, as there were no injuries, arrests or confirmation of shots fired.

Sherwin Bryce-Pease, a correspondent with South African Broadcasting Corp based in New York, was on a Norwegian Airlines flight from Paris that landed at JFK shortly before 10pm (local time).

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"They told us nothing from the flight deck. Only that the earliest the gate will be available will be in 1 hour 15 minutes from when we landed, an announcement greeted by huge sighs on our Norwegian Airlines flight from Paris," he said.

Video and photos posted on social media showed hundreds of people streaming out of Terminal 8.

Police won't say anything except "it's not safe to stay here" as we leave terminal 8 — Dan Archer (@archcomix) August 15, 2016

A lot of people are scared. Unsure of what is going on.

#JFK pic.twitter.com/nFf0RcGW5Z — Robbie Rob (@locodoggy) August 15, 2016

The New York Post newspaper has reported panic broke out when a passenger told police just after 9.30pm that she had seen a man with a gun inside the terminal, leading to mass evacuations, the New York Post has reported.

The terminal was scoured and thousands of passengers were forced to flee the airport with many taking cover outside behind cement traffic barriers, it said.

"If you're forgetting anything it's not worth your life, everyone move now," the newspaper said one officer yelled out.

According to the airport's website, Terminal 8 is a major Oneworld hub, with American Airlines as the major Oneworld carrier.

Oneworld airlines including Finnair, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Air Berlin and LAN Airlines operate out of Terminal 8. Qantas operates from Terminal 7.