New York JFK Airport

Customer Reviews

3 star Skytrax Rating
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Queuing Times 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Staff 12345
Customer rating from 583 reviews
3/10
3 star Skytrax Rating
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1/10

"Despicable experience"

(Armenia)

Not Verified | Despicable experience. People pushed around in a very long line as though they are animals. Women standing with little babies in their hands for hours and no one giving them priority! The whole security experience is the worst I have seen in any airport in the world. What is the JFK management doing? They should be fired for humiliating JFK passengers, who are their clients. Stop following modern standards of service, this airport has a really unpleasant, almost fascist feeling. This is serious. I was in terminal 4.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitJuly 2023
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"TSA staff are so abrupt and rude"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | TSA staff are so abrupt and rude. The gentleman at the scanner told me me to pull up my pants...My pants were just fine (Im a 36 man, not a teenager) I asked him "should I pull up my pants". Then proceeds to say "yeah you heard that correctly, pull up your pants bro, pull up your pants bro", when I walked I said "no need to be rude" to which he said, "step out, bye". Not sure in what world is it acceptable to talk to people like that
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitJuly 2023
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"I loathe this airport"

(United States)

Not Verified | Miserable experience. Security personnel were mouthy and rude and pushed people through security so quickly that it caused a large group of people trying to get themselves and their belongings back together while security personnel kept screeching, “move down, this is a working area.” There was only one bench and one small table and no room for people to put their shoes on, belts on, re-pack electronics etc. and there were only TWO agents screening hundreds of people. The process was so slow that we missed our connecting flight and had to spend the night in the airport which was freezing cold even in July. It also irks me that people cannot speak English clearly which causes more confusion and frustration. I loathe this airport and will avoid it at all costs in the future.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitJuly 2023
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
no
1/10

"Really poor travelling experience"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | The TSA staff at JFK and the gate staff need a huge amount of training in customer service and process. Going through T7, a whole load of us experienced one particular TSA officer shouting instructions about what goes where in the trays and rather than do their job, which is to repeat the information, they decided to go up to people and shout at them in a tone as if the person is an idiot and then turn to the queue and say “see, they just don’t listen”, so everyone can look at you like you’re a criminal. Airports all over the world have different rules for security screening. Frequent flyers will often automatically go to the majority format, it’s not malicious and it definitely doesn’t deserve being made to be the focus of derision. The gate staff called people holding a mobile boarding pass to have their ID verified AGAIN at the gate, before the boarding process started. When asked why, rather than tell the truth, they said that’s the rules. It wasn’t the rule when flying out of JFK literally a couple of weeks ago and it still is not the rule. Mobile boarding pass holders do not require additional ID screening at the gate and this member of staff was not accurate. The process for ID verification is stated as follows: “The officer will insert each photo ID into the CAT unit where the ID is scanned and analyzed. CAT is linked electronically to the Secure Flight database, which confirms travelers' flight details, ensuring they are ticketed for travel that day.” Really poor travelling experience.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitJuly 2023
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"3 immigration inspectors for 500 passengers"

(India)

Not Verified | Don't ever fly through JFK if you have to go to New York city! Standing in queue for 4 hours along with 500 other passengers at JFK Airport customs was a harrowing experience. Can you imagine just 3 immigration inspectors for 500 passengers? The last thing I wanted after a long flight and fatigued legs was to be held up at immigration for an inordinate amount of time. All I wanted to do was rest, refresh and resume. Here I was waiting in JFK security lines.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitJuly 2023
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
no
2/10

"worst connecting flight experience"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | This is the worst connecting flight experience I've ever encountered. We needed to collect our bags and go through border patrol/re-check bags/security. This in itself wouldn't be a problem if the airport was sufficiently manned and the process wasn't so slow. We landed into JFK at 5.45pm, our connecting flight was at 8.05pm. When coming off the plane we followed the signs for non USA citizens and stood queuing for 45 mins for passport control. It was only when we got near the front of the queue we realised there is a 'quick connect' queue for people on connecting flights. This isn't visible or well signposted until you are at the front of the queue, there were no staff directing. You would have to walk passed the 'Non USA Citizens' queue to see it. Even once we switched to that queue (as the other had stagnated completely) it still took an additional 30 mins. There was one border officer who had to take prints and pictures of every passenger. It wasn't something that can be done quickly and I understand why, however more staff would help. Once through there our bag collection was quick and easy, so that was a positive. From there we followed signs for connecting passengers. We re-checked the bags which was quick for us. We headed for security, there is a specific security for connecting passengers. The queue was long but not overly long, the issue was again how slow it was. They had one belt open for all connecting flights. After 30 mins of queuing here, our family and others made it known to airport staff that due to the length of time queuing we were going to miss our flight. We had 30 mins until take off, others had even less. A lady who tried to be helpful took us to the front and asked security staff if we could go through as a priority as we were going to miss our flights, unfortunately she was told no. There was a belt for 'TSA' passengers that was empty, they were unwilling to let people use it despite the lady pleading with them on our behalf. I'd like to thank her, I don't know her name but she tried to help and got a hard time from others because of it. Another worker would let parties of 2 jump to the front but not us as we were a party of 4. It was so frustrating being refused help yourself to have others jump in front, making us more likely to miss our flight. After 45 mins of some passengers pleading for priority to get through and one young woman crying her eyes out because she was missing her plane, they decided opening a second belt was a good idea. After a 1 hour queue at security, we got through with 10 mins to go. We sprinted shoeless through the airport to our gate, the airport is huge so it was quite a way. We made it just in time. The icing on the cake was when we arrived at our final destination and all 4 of our bags had been left in New York. The only saving grace was that we did make our flight, despite it being an unnecessarily stressful situation. My advice is, if possible don't connect here. If you do, make sure you have 3 hours minimum to do it in case the service is as bad as it was for us. Look for the 'Quick Connect' queue at passport control if you are on a connecting flight.
Experience At AirportTransit
Date VisitJuly 2023
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Airport Staff 12345
no
7/10

"not an aesthetically pleasing airport"

(United States)

Trip Verified | JFK is arguably my least favorite airport, but I was pleasantly surprised with my experience this time. The check in and security process was exceptionally quick as I was able to get to my gate in less than an hour! I was also not expecting the TSA to be so accommodating considering my own past experiences at JFK dealing with their rudeness. There were a decent amount of food options, but most were charging pretty steep prices so the McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts were a godsend. Ultimately, JFK’s biggest advantage is the range of destinations you can fly to directly, it’s not an aesthetically pleasing airport with world class amenities but at least this time was far less stressful. This was also my first time flying out of Terminal 4 so I feel the experience really varies based on the terminal.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitJuly 2023
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Airport Staff 12345
yes
2/10

"security task employees were slow"

(United States)

Not Verified | Worst airport I have ever been in. Terminal 8 security task employees were slow, rude and disrespectful. My husbands bag got detained and the young man checking it was arrogant and rude. I’ll never use the airport again for international travel.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitJuly 2023
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"arrival experience at JFK is dreadful"

(United Arab Emirates)

Not Verified | Given the lengthy international flight times to NYC and the exciting prospect to a traveller of seeing one of the world's most exciting destinations, the arrival experience at JFK is a dreadful advert for the USA. The airport is old, poorly designed and needs knocked down. Passport control and security is almost third-world, crowds being shepherded in their hundreds (after a long walk) into one huge hall and processed at a snail's pace (two hours in my case after after a 13-hour flight). No respite if you are a child, or old or disabled. It is quite simply, a devastatingly unpleasant experience. The wi-fi is poor, signage is poor, the exits are small, there are not enough restrooms, the lack of amenities is endless. Departure is marginally better but not enough security machinery to process quickly. The shops are not great in quality and everyone just looks disappointed! This airport does not feel or look clean. What a shame that this (last-century) airport is the gateway to an amazing city. Next time it will be Newark!
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitJune 2023
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"Not a single staff member to control crowds"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | Horrendous - the only way to describe the immigration system. Last night, T8, total chaos. No way to even join a queue initially as was insanely busy. Free for all. Not a single staff member to control crowds. Took 2 hrs 40 mins to get through in cramped stifling conditions. Not fit for purpose. Unlike other airports, no e-gates. Welcome to America? Last time I came via Dublin with Aer Lingus was brilliant where you pre-clear immigration.. The only way to do this trip in future.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitJune 2023
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Wifi Connectivity 12345
no