NEWARK AIRPORT review :  8 November 2009 : by D Gill   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

The immigration queues are woeful as the queues were long and there were a lot of unmanned booths. I believe segregating passengers without explaining why is a dangerous thing for them to do (which is what happened to me despite being the only Indian in an all-Caucasian group). This was made worse by making me wait for an hour and being interrogated like a criminal about intimate details of my life. My advice if you end up in Newark airport is to co-operate fully and never go back there. The lack of screens which had all flights in the check in area was not good and there were surprisingly few places to eat as the ones that were there had long queues..

NEWARK AIRPORT review :  5 November 2009 : by S Koenig   (USA)

Customer Rating :  3/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

We connected through Newark going from Miami to Ottawa, so did not experience the check-in counters, ground transportation, etc. Unfortunately, due to weather delays, we ended up spending over 9 hours here. While the newer, larger terminals Continental uses are rather nice, with a decent array of eateries and shops, our onward flight departed from Terminal A, which looks like a small, crowded terminal built decades ago and never updated. Woefully over-crowded. While the main terminals had bars/restaurants run by Heineken and by Samuel Adams beers, Terminal A had just a Budwesier brew pub/eatery (being the only sit-down restaurant in the terminal, it was filled, with a long line of people waiting to get in). The main terminals could use a desk giving ground transportation information (the only one is outside security), since at one point we were given the option of trudging out to Laguardia to get a flight to Ottawa, but the reps at the customer service counters could give us NO information at all about time and cost of getting out to Laguardia.

NEWARK AIRPORT review :  29 October 2009 : by S Healey   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Newark is far better than JFK but that's about one of the few things its got going for it. There is not much in the way of signage both inside and outside the airport grounds and it can be confusing. The whole airport needs a rethink in terms of staff attitude towards passengers together with more signage. The TSA agent on arrival was quite pleasant and we were on our way into Manhattan within 40 minutes of arrival. Our luggage was already on the carousel. For departures BA's check in area is located in the basement area of Terminal B; the signage by the roadside indicating where this is indicated is very small and needs to be made a lot bigger. In Terminal B there is small food court with a McDs. There is also a Chilis Too which is located nearer to the security checkpoint. Again there are no signs to indicate the existance of Chilis Too. TSA people on departure were slow and officious to the nth degree. There did not seem to be much effective communication between the TSA and the other security group who work in that airport; what we did see were these two groups arguing with each other about a wheelchair going through a security checkpoint (the wheelchair did not fit through the TSA checkpoint).

NEWARK AIRPORT review :  29 October 2009 : by K Kenny   (USA)

Customer Rating :  3/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

I travel to several cities in Europe and have never paid for a luggage cart. Here at Newark we greet visitors to our wonderful Country by charging them $5.00 to use the luggage cart. How very unfriendly and unwelcoming - and how very unnecessary. Also, in Terminal C while waiting for International arrivals there is no comfortable place to wait. Previously there was a seating area where you could watch the passengers coming out from Customs and Immigration. Again, not very welcoming.

NEWARK AIRPORT review :  24 September 2009 : by R Behrent   (USA)

Customer Rating :  3/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

I am at EWR on the average of once per week. It seem that almost EVERY time there is at lease one elevator or escalator not working. Maintenance is poor and not preventative. Also, if you happen to arrive between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM due to a delay, many things are shut down. The Air Train runs only one train every twenty minutes. Really great after taking 18 hours to get from Omaha, via Houston, and see it pulling away as you get to the top of the platform. All said, still better than LaGuardia or Kennedy and most convenient for me.

NEWARK AIRPORT review :  31 August 2009 : by Bruce Stram   (USA)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Going through security was a 3rd world nightmare. Totally disorganized, indistinct lines, no guidance. It had to be a 2 to 3 hr wait for those trapped in the lines. Of course we missed our connection. Our ordeal was relieved only because after a half hour wait with little visible progress, some guy came out and said there was an Elite line, which of course was impossible to see because of the crowd.

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 22 July 2009 : by G Burns

Customer Rating : 2/5

Have used Newark two or three times a year, most recently DUB-EWR-DTW on Continental. The airport has some positives - the monorail (Air Tran) fairly fast and easy. (There’s also a inter-terminal bus through the ugly underbelly of the airport – fast but hot, little seating, difficult for people with even minor mobility problems.) But, echoing some of the other posts, arriving internationally then connecting domestically is a zoo. Passengers have to do the work of baggage handlers in taking their bags, after clearing customs, into a snake line to a transfer point for rechecking onto domestic connections. There are not enough airport workers nor enough space nor enough explanatory signs for this transfer; passengers are confused and herded like cattle. There’s no indication that it’s occurred to the airport authorities that international arrivals involves some people who don’t speak English. Even well intentioned airport workers – clearly not trained to deal with international passengers - end up barking orders that even English speakers have trouble hearing and understanding. One is expected (again, without any clear explanatory signs) to deposit one’s bags in one of the jumbled piles of luggage. It’s such a picture of chaos that no reasonable person would think that those bags will end up checked onto the appropriate destination. Thus the crowding gets worse as passengers are understandably hesitant to separate from their bags. TSA in Newark can be unbelievably slow. First, why can’t the whole transfer from an international flight to a domestic connection be in a secure area so that passengers don’t have to clear security again? In any case, my TSA line literally cleared no more than about one passenger a minute; some people surely missed their flights. As one post noted, the contrast with efficiently run European airports like Frankfurt make our American airports look very backwards.

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 14 June 2009 : by Steve Sullivan

Customer Rating : 4/5

Flying much more frequently through EWR (to LAX) than I have over the last three or four years, and I've got to admit being pleased with some of the changes seen in that time. The biggest difference is with the TSA in Terminal C, as the wait times now as compared to 2003 and 2004 are miniscule. President's Club could still use some updating/creature comforts, but overall good experience. Biggest downer has to be the redcoat squadron that the airport employs. Clueless when it comes to directions, current information, etc. EWR is far superior to JFK and LGA for convenience, cleanliness and the TSA security checkpoints.

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 10 May 2009 : by B Meyer

Customer Rating : 1/5

This was our first time at this airport. Every person working there was unhappy. We didn't see one smile from anyone. Our flight was cancelled so we had to stay overnight at a hotel. The airport is poorly run, the employees are very sad and look like they have no life in them, and out of all the airports we have been to it was the worst designed. The airport signs are small and lead you to nowhere so they have really unhappy, crabby people to not help you. We will never go there again and I advise everyone to not fly there. The screen told us the flight was on-time but it was cancelled so we didn't find out until hours later.

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 18 February 2009 : by A Sharma

Customer Rating : 1/5

Had not flown into this airport in years. It is shameful that an airport that is connected to New York is such a mess. After dropping the rental car I waited for tram to get to the airport. You have to guess on your own whether the one to the left, or one to the right, will depart. And on top of that for no apparent reason you had to change the tram at terminal A to go to terminal B. Nothing tell you do so. You just have to guess seeing most of the people getting off the train. It was very confusing. The gate number for my flight was not listed even though flight was about to depart in less than an hour. Security had to be the slowest of any airport I have seen. Its not that there were lot people ahead of me - the TSA folks just looked lazy and clumsy thats all. They didn't have any incentive to expedite people faster. There was this one TSA staff that gives you this brochure which says if you pay $200 annual fee you dont have to wait in line as long. What a way to squeeze every penny out of travellers. The rest rooms were filthy - there should be no excuse for that.

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 26 January 2009 : by E Shackelford

Customer Rating : 1/5

As a New Yorker flying out of EWR frequently due to the convenient schedule of Continental Airlines, I find this airport a total embarassment. I flew to Puerto Vallarta business class on Saturday January 17 in the morning. The airport officials and Continental reps were barking orders at us. Elite access for business class was totally obliterated due to many flights leaving at the same time. Passengers were pulled out of line ahead of the rest of us to barely check in the required hour before flight time. Those of us leaving later had to wait until WE were checked in by the skin of our teeth. Fortunately, I had Elite Access through security. Otherwise, I would have missed my flight due to a congested security area. This was Terminal C. I do not know who was responsible for this mayhem, Continental Airlines, airport personnel or both. I complained through channels to Continental about this. A week has passed and I have not had the courtesy of a reply of any kind, even an electronic acknowledgement of my e-mailed complaint. Avoid this airport at all costs. However, I live here and do not have that luxury without cutting off my nose to spite my face.

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 25 December 2008 : by G Shafer

Customer Rating : 3/5

I have been there a few times to pick up passengers and found it utterly confusing. Even the highway signs once you get off the NJ Turnpike don't make it clear where the main terminal is located. Once you are inside the airport, there are no signs indicating which airlines are at each terminal. I know there are only three terminals but this is a major problem if you don't know which one to go to. I ended up in Terminal C and found no signs indicating where to meet passengers, and had to ask an employee. Also, in the pre-security area there is absolutely no retail, not even a place to get coffee or water.

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 6 November 2008 : by J Bailey

Customer Rating : 3/5

Big and confusing at check in. Security- they need to get a grip. Why is this always an issue in the US. I totally favour good security done efficiently. These guys like so many others across the States just think that this hyper aggressive abrupt manner is acceptable. I am sorry for generalising but it is such a feature of US travel that they need to be aware that I now know many people that simply will not go there or even route through there. The airport apart from this is quite acceptable, and pretty well connected and laid out. So good marks for the airport, bad marks for their security.

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 28 October 2008 : by Maros Marko

Customer Rating : 1/5

This was by far the worst airport I have used for connecting in the US. Arriving from SLC and connecting into LHR was a nightmare. After we got out of the plane, we looked around and were trying to find a transfer desk or at least some information screens which would tell us which is our gate, but had no luck. There was also no single employee around which could assist us. After leaving the security area (which i deem completely unnecessary), we had finally found some screens. To our surprise the time on the screen was showing a departure time 1hr 20mins earlier than what we had on our itinerary. After 10 minutes we finally managed to find the BA check in which was basically in a basement and very difficult to find. We rushed to the gate and only realized there that the times which were displayed on the information screens are not departure times but boarding times. We were however stuck in the gate area with a very limited selection of food and shop options. Generally, the airport is very poorly organized with no information screens, almost no signs and rude staff. For me the first and last time I was flying through Newark

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 28 October 2008 : by Sri Narayan

Customer Rating : 4/5

Arrived in terminal B at EWR at about 2PM. Three international flights landed almost simultaneously. There were about 120 people in front of me in the passport control line. However, there were easily 30 counters open in the non-US-citizen section. So, the wait time for me was about 20 minutes. The agents at passport control were all very friendly and welcoming. This gave the airport a 5-star welcoming experience. However, I am rating at 4-stars because the Air-Train stopped working for a while and I got shoved into the train going the opposite side of where I wanted to go. As a result missed Amtrak connection. With a bunch of luggage in hand, this is unpleasant, but not that much to complain about.

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 7 August 2008 : by R Baker

Customer Rating : 3/5

Flew into Newark on Continental - arrived 1315. We had been concerned by the somewhat negative reviews here but were very impressed. Customs were very quick (queued for 5-10 mins compared to 2 hours at Miami in 2006) and pleasant. As transit passengers (going to Fort Myers) we had to pick up the bags then walk them literally round the corner to transit handling then got the monorail to Terminal C (arrived in B). Restaurants limited but had a good meal. Very impressed.

NEWARK AIRPORT review : 7 July 2008 : by J Bowley

Customer Rating : 3/5

Flying out of Newark: Generally good, modern facilities, presidents club (Terminal C) is OK and a nice area to sit in if a little overcrowded at times. Not much to keep you occupied though, shops/food outlets are uninspiring and scattered throughout the terminal meaning a bit of walking is required between each. Flying in to Newark: Flown into Newark twice in the last few weeks. It's Jekyll and Hyde stuff with immigration though for non-US citizens. First flight wasn't too bad, 30 mins wait tv screens to keep the boredom at bay showing Larry King. Bags ready once past the boarder and very efficient customs operation. Second time was dreadful with immigration the culprits. 2 hour wait, the staff attending to the lines (not the border control officers) were nothing short of rude to almost everyone. They did not communicate with the border control people causing more confusion, arguments and delays. In fact it took so long that our flight was removed from the baggage board 1 hour before we cleared immigration making it problematic finding our luggage.