New York JFK Airport

New York JFK is without doubt the least professional, least organised and rudest airport I have ever visited. On arrival the staff were unclear and dismissive. The queue was unmanaged and slow moving with staff at JFK loudly voicing their surprise that so many people had arrived on an airplane which must arrive with the same numbers on a daily basis. On departures the lines were unmanaged once again with people cutting in and pushing while staff did their best to pretend they didn't see so they wouldn't have to deal with it. I was witness to one traveller verbally abuse another for "cutting in line" despite being told to go there. Staff looked on at the exchange and did not intervene. Pathetic. My bag required a second check after X-ray and I was stood for 30 minutes waiting for 1 of the 3 members of staff to check it. Once again staff were slow moving and in no hurry to check my bag. Their ability to pretend they could not see my bag or myself waiting was infuriating and I was rudely spoken to when I politely asked (after 20 minutes) if there was any possibility my bag could be checked. Eventually my bag was picked up by a member of staff who found the time to finish her conversation and then wave a wand over my bag before slinging it back to me, all without looking or speaking to me. As an experienced traveller and someone who prides himself on his polite conduct and ability to follow rules I was quite frankly disgusted with the behaviour of staff and their incredibly slow working capacity. I fully understand that safety is paramount and I am glad that bags be checked on a second or even third time if there is something unusual / suspicious but to be left standing for 30 minutes with nobody doing any checks is not the level of scrutiny I imagine you require.

New York JFK is a place of chaos - none of the staff seem to know where anything is, or what they have to do. Everybody sends you to another direction when you have questions or just want to check-in or get on board. In addition the staff are fast and rude in everything they are doing, and that ends in chaos, queues over queues everywhere, stressed passengers and delayed departures. When we wanted to fly back, we sat around 3 hours inside of the plane before departure - because there was even a queue on the runway.

The worst experience I have had in an airport. We arrived on Friday 14th October at 12.50pm at terminal 7. We walked from the flight into absolute chaos, hundreds of people in a small area with no idea where to go or what to do. One lady was shouting at all passengers to "make a line" but with no indication as to why and where. There were far too many people to form a queue so people just stood in a mass with no idea where to go. We stood like that with more and more people joining us from other flights for over an hour without moving at all. Eventually, after forming two lines we started to move slowly through customs two hours after arriving. Our line headed for the electronic machines where we were ordered by a second rude staff member to go to machine 12. We did so, entering all required information but when we tried to print the documents were told by the same lady with a shrug of her shoulders that the machine had no paper and we should use another machine. We eventually printed our documents from another machine but observed the same lady kept sending more customers to the machine with no paper. We then had to join another queue and when we were nearly at the front the customs officer at the desk got up and walked off, no idea why. We waited again to see another customs officer who took the same details and fingerprints we had just entered at the machine. Overall we spent over two and a half hours at customs and when we arrived at our apartment our host had left thinking we weren't coming. Please JFK, sort this out or we won't be back 😰, it ruined the start of our holiday.

✅ Verified Review | Interestingly we went through on same date as a previous reviewer. We arrived at terminal 4 on 24th September. Having been through the British Airways terminal a number of years ago you are not prepared for your treatment at terminal 4. We are currently appealing a no show on our taxi company as we were held for two and a half hours through security. My only regret is that I did not ask for the person's ID and name as he was enjoying every minute of the delay he was causing. Can I suggest you get rid of all the people controlling the queues saving that expense in favour of a light and bell system where you are called individually by the desk operator then you don't get the situation we all had which was being directed by a staff member at the head of the main queue to desks where there were already queues and being stuck. Our operator then delighted in closing two desks either side where people were queuing and asking us to merge into one. He then got a query and went off to seek advice delaying it even further. Whilst I think we all appreciate the vigilance we also travelled recently through Paris CDG and London Heathrow both experiencing the same security issues as the US but without the grief experienced in your country. Further to my suggestion of a bell and lighting system perhaps the government could seek advice from every major bank or retailer who operates these systems very efficiently. Interestingly when departing terminal 4 two week later nothing was complicated.

Our arrival at JFK can only be described as chaotic, we waited so long to get through the convoluted check out system that we missed our shuttle connection and had to wait for the next one which added another hour to our journey. My biggest bugbear with this airport is the staff. They never smile and spend far too much time shouting and gesticulating at hapless passengers which generally compounds the impression that you have entered the gateway to hell as opposed to a major international airport! On a good note our departure was a vastly improved experience with almost all staff (women I might add!) being pleasant,efficient and helpful. Only one male member of staff let the side down as he appeared to have lost the power of speech as he was only able to grunt and move his head in the general direction he wished us to proceed. The shops are poor as well. The airport could really do with an overhaul from top to bottom because as it stands it is an embarrassment to New York .

✅ Verified Review | Paris to New York and vice versa through JFK. Horrible experience. The treatment from most of the airport staff was quite degrading. In a previous comment somebody mentioned that, when going through security check, a woman was yelling 'they aint gonna load emselves' to the people so that they put their bags/items onto the conveyor. That is exactly what I heard too. I mean, what are we? Animals? Passport control was even worse. There was a woman there, looking completely unprofessional, that was yelling incoherently to the people to go where she was pointing at. At first, when I was still a bit farther away, I thought it was some crazy person and the security would pick her up, but it was indeed airport staff. Finally, I would imagine that the main airport for one of the biggest cities in the world would be spacious, but far from it; narrow corridors and a general claustrophobic environment.

I have been to JFK many times but the whole experience now is beyond a joke. We landed at JFK on 2nd September at around 16.00 after a 3.5 hour delay by American Airlines. The queue at Immigration was horrendous. There was total confusion, one woman walked up and down shouting at people incoherently which line they should be in, no-one understood her. There is no air-con in the hall and there must have been a thousand people in there waiting for no more than 6 desks to serve everyone and then one of those left. A few kind people let those with young children go to the front. It took over 2 hours to get through the queue and we had rushed to get near the front, heaven knows how long the poor people at the back had to wait. Get more people on the empty desks. There are dozens of them. We all paid $14 each for this. Once you finally get to a desk the staff are fine but the treatment of people worse than cattle beforehand is atrocious. The return trip was not much better, the staff at security were really rude. One woman kept shouting at people to put their bags onto the conveyer as 'they aint gonna load emselves' There is no need for the rudeness of the staff at JFK. A thoroughly unpleasant experience altogether. If I ever have to go to New York again I will travel to somewhere else first and get transport there rather than be subjected to the cattle like treatment at JFK.

The JFK Terminal 4 seems like a run of the mill airport. There is really nothing that stands out about this airport in terms of architecture so it is rather unmemorable. However it doesn't mean it's bad, on contrary, it's easy and quick to navigate. A bit of a problem on arrival can be the fact that immigration control takes a lot of time, an hour or two even for some passengers, so when we reached the baggage claim finally our suitcases were already taken off the carousel. Staff were courteous and professional though. Terminal was very clean especially for its size. Available seating is comfortable enough to wait an hour or two before boarding and there is also a limited free wi-fi which won't be enough only if your flight is delayed. When it comes to food, the Terminal 4 has an average offer but the shopping options are slightly better, although not impressive. There was practically no queue at security control on departure.

✅ Verified Review | On arrival at New York JFK we were separated into queues - one for US citizens and one for foreigners. It took over an hour just to reach the ESTA machines. Due to poor signage, we asked what we should do with our little printouts from the machines and were directed along a corridor. Seconds later we were bellowed at by someone asking us to get back in the line. We explained that we'd been sent through but to no avail. We then collected our baggage and then we queued up to leave the airport and give another rude and sullen employee our stamped ticket. Altogether we had waited almost 2 hours. The taxi queue outside was unbelievable. Not due to lack of taxis but to the traffic chaos outside. Everyone for arrivals and departures are at the same place. Cars, buses, taxis with lanes constantly blocked by people stopping wherever they felt like it to unload / load etc. An employee ran up and down, yelling and blowing a whistle to keep the traffic moving. Nowhere is adequately signed e.g. Stand A, B etc. There is just one sign - Passenger Pick up and Drop off. I assume this means along the whole length of the airport. Hence no-one knows where exactly to wait. Everyone asked everyone else what to do. It was absolute chaos. In the queue for the taxi passengers further down were always trying to cut in but after an hour and a half wait, I couldn't blame them. From leaving the plane to getting a taxi took 3.5 hours. Overall the airport is poorly signed, with most monitors showing advertising instead of information. It is a challenge to find the toilets. Seating is limited and the whole atmosphere is stressful and unwelcoming. As for the airport staff - loud and rude is all that I can say. Never again, not even with a connecting flight.

✅ Verified Review | International arrival at JFK Terminal 7, transfer to a domestic flight - Terminal 8. JFK is the worst airport I have ever used, and I've used many. It is almost impossible to make a 3 hour layover as the lines to immigration go forever. You get out of the plane and the line starts already at gate entrance. There is no information what this line was for or what is going on. The only spoken announcements were initially in Spanish. Staff were rude and unhelpful. Took 2 hours to clear immigration, then 30 minutes to check in for the next flight. You need to claim your luggage before transfer. Made it only because my next flight was first delayed, then cancelled - something that happens frequently at JFK. My advice - if you can, use a different airport for your arrival into the US.