Newark Airport Passenger Reviews and Newark Airport Traveller Reports

We have travelled through many airports but have never encountered the consistently horrible experiences that we've encountered with Newark Liberty Airport. We've been bounced from gate to gate and terminal to terminal, not to mention the consistent delays. I believe I would rather fly to several extra airports just to avoid Newark. Beware travellers.

I have flown in and out of Newark's Liberty Airport several times. There is nothing spectacular about the airport facilities. Dining options in Terminal C were limited if you were delayed. The line for security was long, but moved. Arriving, I found virtually no line at passport control and my bags arrived quickly. The most redeeming factor for Liberty Airport is its easy rail access. That is a valuable asset for any major airport.

I have spent a significant chunk of my life in airports. I was horrified at the cleanliness and facilities at this dump. I am in C Terminal along with several thousand other people. My first stop after a long flight was the restroom. The lines were incredibly long, and an employee informed me there were only two bathrooms for the whole terminal, each having three urinals/commodes. When I finally got in the filth was terrible.

I was given wheelchair assistance at the airport. Usually the people employed for this job are very competent and courteous. Not at Newark airport this time. The lady in charge was in a terrible mood, bumped me against a wall once, did not seem to have any idea where luggage could be claimed, or where to find the hotel shuttles, and in the end rushed us, my wife and myself, into the wrong shuttle van. A most unpleasant experience, unexpected in this country.

Flew in on LH and left 2 days later on Swiss. Coming in, I must have been quite lucky, because both immigration as well as baggage collection were quite fast - it wasn't a busy time of day and getting out of the building and into the cab is a matter of 2 minutes, once you're out of security area. Personnel wasn't particular friendly, but nothing to complain about. Flying out I was lucky again as it was not a busy time, but that was about the only upside. As one other reviewer already wrote: don't arrive on an empty stomach. Next to this advise one clear warning: avoid the Duty Free shops! The price tags at least on cosmetics are hefty. I had 4 people in front of me at security and it took about 20 minutes. I don't want to think about what it would be like if it had been a regular hour or even a busy day. The airport itself has some structural drawbacks and on top of that seems to be very poorly maintained. I don't fly to NYC often, but I'll definitely try to avoid EWR next time.

Never flown into Newark from overseas - and never will again. Horrible airport. Immigration lines were huge but as I am Global Entry it took 30 seconds. Baggage reclaim took 40 minutes and the line to go past customs was an hour long, easily 1000 people in line. Confusion, frustration - many people had connections and no one cared to expedite things. TSA security was 2 lanes for 1000 people crammed into United's Premier and Standard passenger lines. Chaotic and just a mess - once through many restaurant choices but I just wanted to get to my gate. Worse than LAX or MIA.

During Saturday evening, only 4 of 60 available immigration booths were occupied and there were the long queues described so often here. After spending just "moderate" 90 minutes in the queue for non U.S. citizens, the immigration officer screamed at my wife and me with no apparent reason and treated us in a insulting way. Only one of the 4 booths was open for U.S. citizens, so there was no visible progress in their long queue during these 90 minutes. I could see hundreds of frustrated faces at once at this airport. The departure after our visit went much better in the late evening at Terminal B, but could not compensate for the arrival experience: Trying to follow the partially missing signage I got lost immediately behind the entrance, but, apparently for compensation, there were lots of support personnel placed in the entrance area which could be asked to show the way. This time, security staff were quick and friendly. With an online check-in it took us only a couple of minutes to get to the gates. The shops after the security were quite disappointing for an international airport, so we did not spend here many of our remaining cash-dollars.

Probably the worst airport in a first world country that we have ever experienced. There was a total culture of really lousy customer service right from the check in counter, through security, at the food services and out to the gate staff. It can only be explained by an attitude that starts out with upper management. Given that there are two other choices to fly into NY, next trip will definitely not be into Newark.

Waited for over 2hours in line to get to an extremely rude and unprofessional immigration officer. We don't expect to get a welcome to the USA but that experience was pretty shocking since this person treated us like a bunch of thugs or something. We have done nothing wrong and have a loyal way of thinking towards the U.S. Rather than that, the airport was alright but due to that experience, I will not recommend Newark airport.

Despite other reviews, we have never had a problem with this airport. Being the airport closest to our home in west NJ, we are forced to travel from here and fly out of here every time. However, even if we lived closer to JFK we would still fly out of here. The staff are friendly, lines are almost never more than 1/2 an hour, and even though it isn't exactly a deciding factor, the windows by the gates are huge and allow an amazing panorama of NYC and the jets landing. There are also many stores and gift shops to make the experience more pleasant, and who doesn't like WI-FI. Newark's only con is that it has slightly less flights than JFK.

Arrived in Newark at around 14.15 hrs on February 11th. Had to queue for 90 minutes for passport control. Lines for non USA passport holders were considerably longer than those for US passport holders. This does not give a good impression. Picking up and rechecking my luggage was very quick and efficient. The queues for security going into terminal C were total chaos and very time consuming, there was no organisation whatsoever and it was a zoo. Otherwise the airport is clean, nice shops and friendly staff. Need to get the passport control and security sorted though. I am not sure if I would choose to transit through Newark again if I had a choice.

Just passed 2 times through Newark but had no big hassles. When you come from abroad be aware that you need to queue up at the immigration, but everybody should be aware of this. I would plan 30 mins for this procedure as an average. We rented a car at Newark and after proceeding through the immigration we took the convenient skytrain which brought us directly to the rental agencies. On return I arrived with UA from Montreal at terminal A and I have been warned that 1.5 hours connection time to my flight to Europe from terminal B could be tight! The immigration to US from Canada takes place in Canada, therefore I arrived as a domestic passenger. Before leaving terminal A I saw signs regarding an inter-terminal-buss. I was directed to gate A28. Quickly I found out that terminal B is served (on request) and took the bus. 5 minutes later I sat in front of the departure gate to my European flight. The whole transfer from arrival gate in terminal A to departure gate in terminal B took me 15 minutes at the most, without any security check, no queues. I do not say that this is a first class airport, but when I read the reports here I only wonder how much people are panicking, instead of reading the signs posted everywhere.

Every aspect of the flying process involved with Terminal A on Oct 4th, 2012 was beyond being a "mess". TSA lines were so long, that passengers arriving 2.5 hours before their flight time had no chance of reaching the gate in time. After moving 40% through the line, a group of concerned passengers asked for help. We were "load-balanced" to the other A Terminal and told to use an airline shuttle to get to our correct gate. We missed the flight which left on-time. Standby passengers from early morning cancellations were ecstatic to find seats while the gate agents ignored the information of passengers stuck in the security lines. I was put on standby for a later flight. While waiting 25 mins before boarding, the gate's destination board suddenly replaced cities. Checked online and discovered a gate change. When approaching the gate agent, they were unaware of any change. To add to the misery, the gate change was for use in the other Terminal A section. So, back on the transfer bus - which also became quickly overwhelmed with an entire flight's worth of people rushing to the new gate. Once, there - we find out that the flight is now delayed. We learn that yet another gate change has been enforced - fortunately within the same A Terminal section this time. After not making standby, a handful of the original passengers were told they were confirmed for the next flight 4 hours later. To make things fun, this flight is in the other Terminal A section. As we wait, this flight also enjoys a delay announcement. We ultimately arrive at our destination (1.5 hours flight time away) after being at this airport for 11 hours. This airports layout and the airline's processes have an unfathomable amount of room for improvement. The customer service agents are rude, the gate agents are clueless and the stupid logistics around the bus and two terminal A's and two TSA choke points is beyond comprehension. Avoid this airport at all costs.

This is the worst airport for delays and cancellations I have ever been to. I have flown round-trip from this airport to the Detroit and Chicago areas 10 times over the summer of 2012. Over half of my flights have been either delayed or cancelled, all because of Newark airport (usually "Newark Traffic" is the given excuse, only 1 delayed/cancelled from bad weather). In one particular case, I had a Friday night flight at 8.30pm. Around 7pm, the flight was delayed 3 hours to 11.30pm. At 11pm, a Delta representative announced that the plane would be arriving soon, and that we "want to make a quick turnaround, so everyone be prepared". The plane lands, and the next announcement is that, "The crew has run out of time. Your flight has been cancelled". This was a gross mis-communication between the ground crew and flight crew, which wasted many hours of all the customers' time. It took 20 minutes for each customer to get a new ticket for the next day, and a hotel for the night. There were 6 Delta representatives, 2 of which left after dealing with their first customers. Incredibly poor service, I can't say enough how much I dislike this airport. It's not just Delta, I've had flights with Southwest, United and United Express as well, and all have had delays because of the Newark employees' incompetence.

Terminal B. Flew out on Thursday evening (Sep 6th). Not a big terminal so not many facilities, but worst problem was security. As with other US airports, they operate a stupid system whereby Fast Track alternate with Economy for passport checks. A guy ahead of me complained and shortly afterwards they added another person to passport check. Even so, the problem was at the scanners. They have four scanners, two of the old style and two new full body scanners. These are then split into two lines, each with an old and new scanner. Problem was that even having fixed the passport check, they were only running one line. Result was a 60 minute queue. I understand airports need to be secure, but how can you justify a 60 minute wait when you're not even running at full capacity. At least if both lines were running, they'd have an excuse, but this was just a manning issue - due either to cost or lack of resource. A really bad experience. It's a wonder people remain so calm.

Second time I have flown in here. First time flew domestic from Miami - no trouble. Flew from LHR and the experience was absolutely terrible. Rude staff except for one gentlemen who helped me out. Upon arrival my gate was changed 3 times. This meant arriving at C and needing to go to A according to my boarding pass. I get to A to find out I need to go back to C. I go back to C only to find out that the gate has been changed once again! At this point I am livid. United changes gates like musical chairs. I will never use this airport again. Just terrible.

We had a very bad experience here and witnessed many passengers being treated even more rudely than we were. The signage was non existent when we had to go from C to A. Had to ask at several desks to get clear directions. We had to take a bus from C to A after having to walk from gate 92 to 70 (there was no sign directing you to A). Driver dropped us off at A but gate numbers started at 18 and we needed 17. Had to ask several times again (asked a passing pilot and he had no idea) where A 17 was. Turns out had to get on another bus to go across the parking lot to A17. Several passengers on the bus missed their flights because of this confusion. Hope to never go there again.

I have flown through this airport many times over the years on my way to Seattle from Glasgow, Scotland always staying overnight and have never had any of the problems stated by other reviewers! I find it easy to get around, staff always courteous, air train easy to find, hotel pick up point well advertised, immigration relatively pleasant and quick and TSA staff efficient.

Terrible airport. Immigration took an hour when we landed on Saturday at 1 pm. Departure was even worse. Went through security only to find it opened only onto five gates, and there was a total of one shop, one coffee bar and one kiosk there - no proper places to eat, no big duty free choices, nothing!

Very confusing. Need to go from C to A and it looked like we needed to take the Airtrain, when I asked security I was told no, to go back to catch the bus. Got the bus and the driver pulled away before people could be seated. Got to A and only one food place and one set of restrooms for over 200 people. Very run down and badly designed. Also couldn't hear the intercoms well.

I thought my experience was unique until I read some of the reviews. Poor signage and employee holding conversations with each other instead of being attentive to "confused" passengers. A passenger should never have to go in search to get directions; it only delays them further to get their flight. I received two incorrect answers about boarding until I finally figured it out. What really took the cake was upon leaving for the parking garage I asked two people both told me the elevator was on the side of the building. The elevator on the side of the building is for baggage claim and flights. I found out later it was located in the back. But the way I was told took the cake. When asked, the woman simply pointed. I looked around trying to find her "point". I asked again, where? She pointed again. She worked at the airport. Did she not speak English?

Just passed thru security and initially thought this is a pleasant experience, that is until I had to go thru security. I inadvertently left my belt on the conveyor belt and it took almost 10 minutes to get a TSA agent to actually look for it. Two of the agents looked at me and said you're going have to wait, as they continued their conversation. They gave a cursory look and then continued their conversations, refusing to make eye contact or to give me any advice on how to record lost items. Finally a third agent came thru and I asked her to look in 20 seconds she returned with the belt. Abject laziness and rude agents! The worst airport in America.

I thought Lax immigration was the worst anywhere but I now give that dubious honor to Newark. Why do they go out of their way to make you feel unwelcome and of course give visitors a very negative first opinion of the US. I will avoid this airport whenever possible indeed avoiding the US altogether as a transit country is a high priority for me given the requirement to clear immigration even if you aren't staying in the country. Canada surely there is an opportunity here for you. I also agree with others that in most respects it is user unfriendly. It is poorly signed and even simple things like finding the hotel shuttles can be a real trial and certainly something one can do without after a long international flight. I think other countries should have special lines for US passport holders and reciprocate that same degree of inconvenience and rudeness.

This airport is clean but everything else about it is horrible. I have been here a few times for New York City trips and international trips. TSA is not very nice and when I was there, there were only two lines open for a busy time. The staff is very rude, slow, and only care about themselves. Try not to fly into here if you can.

This is without question the most miserable airport I've used in the US. Airport is seemingly ancient with very poor layout and huge security lines. One TSA person went out of her way to be nasty, while others were reasonable. Gate personnel at one gate were yelling at passengers and insulting them; something I've never seen anywhere else. Food was of the really bad airport variety, although the Oyster bar seemed to break the Newark mould. I wouldn't voluntarily use this airport again.

Worst airport I have been to in a long time. Layout is so bad you must go through TSA checkpoint between terminals. Terrible signage and a hopelessly overcrowded Airtrain. Third airport appears to be unfixable. The filth and disrepair might be fixable, but no evidence of any effort.

Despite the many negative reviews I've seen concerning Newark, my experience was quite different. Travelling there from NY was fast, checking in was effective and the TSA weren't invasive as I had previously thought. the only drawbacks were the queues at security, and that there weren't enough shops (I did find a Starbucks there, but it was on the other side of the terminal).

Horrible. Service at food stands was lackadaisical; service at airline desks, terrible. Directions? Who can be bothered. Only one bathroom for hundreds of passengers coming in from international flights before customs. No signs to direct holders of US Passports.

I recently flew into Newark airport and had a wheelchair ordered at the time of ticket purchase. I got off the plane and had asked the wheelchair attendant for a wheelchair and was told I could walk. I was very upset and not very pleased with how I was treated. Due to my surgery I should not have been walking that far or up and down all those steps.

Staff at airport to get you from place to place were very nice. TSA was horrible. I saw one TSA lady scream at passengers after she had given them unclear directions, another walked down the line hitting the plexiglass barrier and 'herding' the passengers over to the left. Very rude TSA personnel, very inefficient design (and I know it's retrofitted, but it's not working).

Both my inbound and outbound flights were Continental. I would have thought that they would have sent my baggage straight through to the outbound plane - but no - I had to collect it and then check it in again! The Border Control Agents we spoke to were surly and borderline aggressive. Not once did they say please. I found the lines at security long and sluggish. The distance between departure gates was huge and resulted in me running to attempt to catch my connecting flight. By the time I eventually got to my departure gate, the flight was closed. I found this airport really stressful to navigate!

I travel all over the world on a regular basis, and this is without a doubt, the worst airport I have been to. Even third world countries do not have such a bad airport. Avoid at all costs. I suggest if you have the possibility to do a layover elsewhere, then do that. Staff are unfriendly, the airport is dirty, disorganized, nothing properly labelled, the border control agents were extremely aggressive - never been treated so poorly.

We experienced a complete disregard for passengers when we connected from an international flight to a domestic flight. Our flight arrived late. The airport was not busy, yet the Port Authority chose to dock at the opposite end of Terminal C from immigration and customs. People had to make a mad dash the length of the terminal to get to immigration. Immigration and customs were relatively quick and efficient, if not courteous. 30 minutes after our flight landed, no luggage was on the baggage carousel, 10 minutes later a few pieces started to appear. Then the carousel shut down and did not move for 20 minutes. Finally, we were able to collect our luggage and re-check the bags. There was only one security gate in the terminal open, and it was at the opposite end of the terminal from immigration and customs. Again another mad dash the length of the terminal. Crowd management at security was more chaotic than any other airport I've visited. Fortunately for us, our airline (United) was as incompetent as the Port Authority, and our connecting flight was late, so we made it. The food is overpriced, the restroom facilities were filthy. We will be avoiding in the future.

We waited for a very long time to get a sky bridge delivered to our plane so we could exit. People were waiting for a long time for wheel chairs. The service there is sub par at best. In the terminal waiting areas there are not enough power receptacles for laptop use or phone charging. They did not have a wide selection of restaurants to choose from. Our flight was a final destination flight but we had to change airlines to reach our actual final destination. To do this we had to travel to the other side of the airport, check-in and then re pass through security. We were inside of the airport facility but still had to go through the process of the security check. Also, our baggage which was supposed to be put on a belt at the baggage claim was instead put in a room without our knowledge. We were lucky to ask the right person about it and it was found. I think they should improve their signage to make navigating the airport easier.

Not the best, but in comparison to JFK, Newark is much better! I only use Newark for transit - polite and non invasive immigration officers, no lost bags. Long lines at security though!

On a recent flight back to LHR the security staff going to gates at T2 were a particularly nasty bunch - overly curt and bordering on aggressive. The fact the terminal is in the middle of refurbishment did not make the experience any more pleasant. Airside was a dismal place, lousy coffee cart, overpriced bare essential shop and bar. Despite the refurb work it would have been better to stay landside longer, rather than sit in that dreary gate area. Only plus was the guy at landside Customer Services was polite and very helpful.

EWR should be an attractive arrival point in the US. My first impressions were good and it was on a subsequent leisure visit that I was less pleased. We arrived with BA and the immigration hall was light, spacious and well manned. Officials were reasonably courteous and baggage handling fair. The AirTrain is there I think more for environmental reasons rather than any kind of customer convenience. It is accessed via a series of obstacles such as elevators which can accommodate only one couple and baggage cart. Although our airside experience of Terminal B had been pleasant enough, its landside aspect under extensive refurbishment, is pretty grim.

The introduction to the US through Newark Airport is shocking. An obviously unattended bathroom that was poorly stocked was what I found after alighting a flight from India. Luckily the Customs Process moved quickly and efficiently which took my mind off the drab surroundings. Add to that the fee for travel carts that many other international airports make available, really put a bad light on coming home. Considering the fees that airports now collect, it would seem that as a port of entry we could do better in introducing new visitors and returning citizens.

Customer Rating :  2/5

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