New York JFK Airport

Not Verified | Departing from terminal 5 with my four children was going well, got through security without a problem. On our way to the Aer Lingus lounge in the terminal my youngest son and I stopped for a moment to check information when all of a sudden an airport staff member pushing a lady in a wheelchair almost ran into us with no warning or "excuse me". As I am an extremely polite person I quickly moved with my son and said sorry twice for being in the way, this staff member could very easily have gone around us anyway. As soon as we moved we didn't get a basic thanks instead this "man" called me an idiot in front of my son. This experience tainted my flying from JFK and annoys me to have been subjected to such ignorance and uncouth behaviour, in my opinion there should a complaints procedure which could highlight cases such as this. Staff lacking in basic people skills should be taken in hand and penalised.

Not Verified | Worst airport I've ever visited. Its old, disorganised and very disrespectful to its passengers. Our flight had a 4 hour delay, it was really overcrowded and people had to sit on the floors.

Not Verified | The absolute worst experience I have ever had in an airport. I have travelled to airports around and have never experienced such poor customer service and disorganisation. I have just finished queing at security control for just under 3 hours with no apology whatsoever. No one cares. I did this with my mum who has hip problems. The staff were slow and inconsiderate. Chatting amongst themselves and seemed to not care that they had queues and queues of people waiting for hours. Shocking. Absolutely shocking. Really didn’t expect this from an airport in one of the greatest cities in the world.

✅ Trip Verified | This is the first time I’ve ever complained about anything but I’m hoping it might ease my upset this afternoon at my awful experience at the border control of New York airport. The queue was long and slow and we waited patiently but when we got to the desk the staff member was so rude shouting at us to hurry up. Then when we stood as a family together (me my husband and two small children) he treated me with such an awful lack of respect. Using his temporary position of power to rest my reaction as he knew I couldn’t be rude back to him! He was such a bully. Very awful experience in front of my children. I wish I had taken his name as this boy needs to be taught a lesson, but I get the impression it’s a culture at the border control. An awful initial impression of the USA.

Not Verified | Not impressed by the general experience. Especially choices of places to dine. Impressed however by the extreme low quality of food served and the horrible service level. Worst airport ever and bad representative for the city and region.

✅ Trip Verified | When we arrived in New York there was no room for the aircraft to park so we spent half an hour waiting on the runway. When parked we had to stand in a corridor between the plane and the terminal for half an hour. We then had to queue for an hour and a half to go through passport control. The system was outdated, disorganised and inefficient. Once at passport control the equipment used to take fingerprints didn’t work meaning we had to spend another 20 minutes waiting in a back office. On our return journey to London we found the staff at JFK check in and security rude and unnecessarily abrupt. The departure lounge was small, outdated, worn, dirty and lacked shops and choices of restaurants. We were shocked to find that this large international airport was so old fashioned and provided a worse experience than all others we have travelled to and from in Europe, Asia and Africa.

✅ Trip Verified | This is the worst airport I have experienced in 40 years. The queing system before security checks is bizarre. You queue for 20 mins then your held till people at the back of the queue go in front. Then as you almost get to the front you are stopped so people who have just joined the queue go to the front. Staff are rude shouting at people to get a move on. Very uncivil.

✅ Trip Verified | First, the positives. Many of the airport staff were helpful, friendly, and generally kind. Next, the AirTrain is frequent, fast, and comfortable. Now, unfortunately, the negatives were many. Specifically, there are very few places to sit, yet thousands of people are traveling. No outliers for recharging phones. Few water fountains, and the water fountains that hang on the walls, are not working. In terms of places to eat few and far between, expensive and mediocre. Avoid this airport if possible!

✅ Trip Verified | I used Terminal 8 which houses One World airlines. Departing at 2:50 in the afternoon, I found the security line to be relatively uncrowded. The bins on which we place our belongings to go through the X-ray machines are equipped with a sensor to detect suspicious items. My carry on was pulled off because it triggered a flag. It was opened but nothing was found. I spent an hour at the American Airlines lounge before the flight. Large windows looking out. A good spread of food and a wide range of self service drinks were available. Couches spread out that were comfortable and often offered privacy. Good place to wait before the flight. Lots of stores and eateries. Departure gate was crowded. An end gate, the area had shops and building pillars which together with many seats left little space to form queues prior to boarding. On return, plane arrived around 3 pm. A short walk to the immigration area. There were no lines. Used a machine to read the passport and presented the printout to the officer at his stall. No stamping in passport. With no checked baggage, I walked out to the arrivals hall and called a Uber car which arrived in 4 minutes. In less than 10 minutes from getting out of the plane, I was leaving the airport grounds. More often than not, I have found Terminal 8 a very pleasant and easy place to use and this time was no exception. Airport staff are helpful and signage are ample.

Not Verified | I was a bit worried to be travelling to JFK T4 after reading the reviews but I delighted to report to that we had the quickest and very efficient experience in a long time. We landed at 13:10 and cleared customs, collected luggage and in a cab by 14:00! The ground staff were firm in their approach but certainly not rude, and helped with re-directing passengers into the appropriate lanes to allow quicker clearance. Again on return from T4 at JFK no big queues, staff pleasant and only took 40 mins to check in and make way through security. Maybe we were lucky or maybe people are always quick to complain and not so quick to send good reviews!