New York JFK Airport

✅ Trip Verified | The workers at JFK airport, especially those from screening, are especially rude. While it is understandable that there are a myriad of travelers that they are responsible for screening, it does not excuse their behavior toward those traveling, especially the elderly and handicapped. They have no common sense and empathy toward the people who need help when travelling. I feel for our senior citizens who had to deal with the yelling and belittling while being rudely handled by the TSA at the airport. We all have stresses at our jobs, but please don't handle our US citizens like they are criminals.

❎ Not Verified | This airport sure has a way of getting you in a bad mood. Many TSA and border agents are rude and untactful, and if they're not, it's just plain disorganization, but on my last trip, the immigration staff managed to be rude and insulting both flying out and back (in transit). The first time, my wife, who has two passports, was unsure as to which passport to use. I won't go into details, but it was in complete good faith, but still an immigration officer told her arrogantly that she was "playing with identities" and to me, when I tried to explain the reasons, he asked aggressively how much I knew about migration law. Then, on the way back, another officer, having learned that we live in the DR, absentmindedly said "and I thought this was a bad place", right out of thin air. My other encounters with this airport have been better, but not exactly great.

❎ Not Verified | I live in the New York area and therefore have to frequent this truly dreadful airport. There is no terminal at JFK without its flaws. Departures at Terminal One is somewhat decent, but the arrivals there is by far the worst. Terminal Four is a disgusting mess, and the rest are all horrible as well. To start, the staff at JFK are some of the rudest people I have ever met in my life. Just walking through the terminal you get looks from them, when you ask for help they're condescending, they bark orders at you instead of using a basic human being's tone. The airport is also disgusting. The bathrooms are not clean, some of the seats in the terminal or at gates will be wet or sticky, it's truly disgusting. The airport is also very confusing, gates are not clearly marked, nor where to find them. There are very few boards throughout the terminal. All staff at restaurants or food concessions are rude, or mess up your order, or are clueless. Flights at JFK are frequently delayed, and planes take forever to get to the gate which I can't seem to find a reason as to why that would be the airline's fault. The wifi at the airport also doesn't work at all, and better yet they don't seem to get any kind of cell service there (I've jumped around carriers and have always had the same issue). The security at the airport is a whole other animal. These people assume every person in line is guilty and will not hesitate to yell at you. The people at customs as well love to harass. The lounges at JFK also seem to be lacking. All New York area airports are lacking, but JFK really seems to be the worst.

❎ Not Verified | Disgusted how I and my family were treated going through passport control. Lady shouting orders at us then tutting at us as if we were idiots as I handed her all passports together. She kissed her lips saying, 'jeez you should know it’s one at a time' then proceeded to shout at us to move quicker down the line. Rudest person I have ever met, JFK. You need to do some customer service with your rude staff, I won’t be travelling to or from this airport ever again.

✅ Trip Verified | As a frequent user of this airport, I am surprised by the generally negative reviews it gets. I mostly use Terminal 8 - tenants include American Airlines and several One World members - and have found it to be modern, spacious, with lots of seating and bathrooms, along with shops and eateries, and clean and tidy too! My recent trip through terminal 8 was no exception. True, the TSA staff often do not exude charm but they keep the lines moving through the security machines. On departure, I used the Admirals lounge - it offers nice views of the taxiways through large windows and a good selection of hard and soft drinks. More attention needs to be given to keep the food areas tidy, but more importantly, ensure the food trays have food on them! I returned from Canada and with US immigration done at point of departure, arrival at and exit out of the airport could not be faster or easier. Reviews on this site suggest that the experience varies across terminals and thus broad generalization about JFK may overlook many positive aspects of the airport including its easy access by public transportation.

✅ Trip Verified | After a 15 hour flight from Doha (and with connections to CA) I was stunned by the disorganization, wait-time and general chaos while re-entering the US today (March 31, 2018). The signage was wrong or non-existent, US Citizens are thrown into the same “lines” as non-citizens and there are far too few Officials to establish a semblance of order. The “Passport & Immigrantion” touch screens are temperamental and require multiple attempts to advance in order to procure the coveted ‘receipt’. One beleaguered red-coated employee said this was the ‘new normal’ as staffing was insufficient. That is clearly part of the problem, but the whole ‘process’ is highly problematic. We waited well over an hour to pass through and nearly missed our connection — with many others waiting much longer. And as we all stood there like cattle, it was impossible to get WiFi. One helpful fellow recommended downloading the Mobile Passport App in the future - but this doesn’t help visitors who were as distressed and annoyed as those of us who are citizens.

✅ Trip Verified | After an 11 hour flight we were subjected to incompetence, rudeness and automated equipment failure, both in the passport scanning equipment and the fingerprint scanning equipment during our entry to the USA interview. There is no distinction between US Citizens and foreigners who all are forced to stand and wait in the same lines. The red jacketed attendant stupidly replied to me that this was a better system, that the signs for USCitizens did not mean anything, and that no one was superior with this system. This insulted me for several reasons. 1) All foreign destinations have lines for citizens and another line for non-citizens. The citizens lines tend to move rapidly. 2) I am a Vietnam Vet, a US Citizen, a taxpayer and feel we should have priority entering our own country. As it was, we waited in line for 2 hours, and after the fingerprint scanner failed, the Officer simply got up from his desk, closed the door and walked off the floor. If this was a private business, he would have been fired.

❎ Not Verified | TSA rude and unhelpful. Barking orders as loudly as possible and all the time the same orders as though it was a meat processing plant. We were told we were TSA Approved and it was on our pass for boarding - we were told to tell the staff member which we did. It seemed to make them want to search for a problem even more. They ridiculed my plastic boots given to all passengers in Madrid to keep their feet or socks clean when they remove shoes, and they were so rude and told me it was not acceptable after I had cleared the machine - shoes removed because of big heals. There was zero in my tiny case other than clothes but they held it back and kept it for so long another passenger intervened and told them to give it to me, and they had just left it sitting behind the the x ray box and had not done anything with it after the screening there! They then proceeded to try to close it and were catching the clothes in the zipper which seemed to amuse the man doing it. We asked for it back to close ourselves, before something was torn. This is about the third trip through this airport and we will never return to the airports [or city]. The flight to Seattle from Virgin was delayed three times and the the third time it was then backtracked upon and we were told - by a soft human voice and no inter-com it was "going right now". By then many people had walked right away from the gate to fill the three hours projected wait from the last delay: somewhere other than the boring gate area. People crowded around frantic to get on, and there was only an elderly staff member half directing who was boarding in a quiet voice with no inter-com. It was a total gong show, unbelievable. No cabin staff around other than at the door, and suitcases being stuffed into bins overhead where half would literally not fit! Swap out most of the staff to Seatac for two weeks and show them some manners and common sense tactics. Maybe La Guardia is better?? NJ certainly is not! I am a well travelled 72 year old, and this airport is the worst of the worst. Pay staff properly and get some fresh faces, not control freaks!

❎ Not Verified | The terminals are so poorly organized and so are all the queues and checkpoints. The staff in security and even in restaurants were either unhelpful, rude, uninterested, or spoke to people very poorly, as if we are to blame for how unorganized they are? I have read numerous other negative reviews now and would not return to this airport by choice ever again. I hope someone higher up decides to take more pride in this establishment because it’s embarassing how awful our and others’ experiences have been. I would never recommend this airport to anyone.

❎ Not Verified | JFK is the worst airport to have to get your bags at. Whenever I travel in Europe or another state you get off the plane and your bags arrive shortly after. At JFK you always have to wait forever and for no good reason. There is no consideration for passengers especially late at night. They should be embarrassed with their poor service everytime!