New York JFK Airport

✅ Verified Review | I flew with a group of my students to New York on a field trip. The last day, the pilots of Lufthansa went on strike. We got to JFK very early to make sure that we were rebooked on a different flight. The airline put us together on the SIA flight to Frankfurt. We had to change terminals going from 1 to 4 with all of our luggage and 5 teenagers who just lost their final day in NYC. After standing in line for more than 1.5 hours, we had to stand in line again for more than 2 hours. By the time we had checked-in, there was no going back to Manhattan. We passed security and hoped for the best. The typical food stands, Starbucks and Shake-a-Shack available. Most of the time they were bored to tears - so my advice, if you travel with boys between 15 and 18 do not get to JFK 4 hours prior departure. JFK has not been built for the A380 and the number of passengers. It is difficult to find available seating at their departure gates and this has happened to me with both LH and SIA.

I arrived in New York JFK Terminal 7 on the 22 July 2016 and departed from the same terminal on 29 July 2016. When I arrived at around 1030am, I think there was only one plane load of passengers who were queuing in line at immigration. Only US and Canadians were directed to use the automated computer terminals whereas all others have to queue for the traditional immigration clearance by the officers in person. The queues at the computer terminals cleared quickly but not for the queues waiting to be assessed by the officers. In my experience in other American airports, I could use the computer terminals being an ESTA holder which was a lot quicker. WiFi is readily available at the airport.

Worst experience and very rude TSA staff. My family and I were delayed in Madrid Spain for 1.5 hours which reduced our transit time in New York JFK to 90 minutes. As we were moving through the process an employee with TSA was taking her time checking duty free purchase and when I mentioned to her that we are 20 minutes away from our connecting flight, she purposely started slowing more and blamed us for being late as we were the ones causing the delay in Madrid. I will never use this airport again and encourage people to find other options.

Overall, an average experience at this airport. I was at this airport when we arrived from the UK in New York, and when leaving again. When departing from NY we were faced with a huge queue getting through baggage and security etc, but very surprising, the crowds were managed very efficiently by staff, who seemed friendly and explained calmly and all instructions were very helpful. However, my main airport of use is Edinburgh, which is beyond perfect, but there is lots of places to sit and relax in cafes and lounges that are not at the departure gates. at JFK the only seating available were uncomfortable seating at departure gates, the only others were in the fancy restaurants which I did not want to go in as I den't want a 3 course meal. Some more seating and maybe a slightly cleaner airport would be nice. All considered, a half decent airport suited for the huge amounts of passengers with efficient ways of doing things and friendly staff.

I dread arriving at JFK, especially going through security. Immigration is the worst. I have wanted to complain a number of times already, but now I really feel moved to say something. The lines at immigration are always so long. They have tried to speed up the process for American citizens, but not for the others, or people who have a green card. More officers need to be employed to check the passports, etc. There seems to be a lack of respect for the incoming travelers - certainly not welcoming. One feels treated like cattle (or prisoners). Some of the staff are officious and unwelcoming. However, I do have to say, that there are always some who try to be friendly - thank goodness. But this last time we were kept waiting for almost an hour. Some of the officials just got up and left without replacements, so we were stuck. There were families with children. It was torture for them. This could be avoided by employing more people and having a more efficient system. In short: JFK needs to be more welcoming and efficient.

It was my first time flying into JFK and honestly I was fairly disappointed. I arrived on a Cathay Pacific flight early in the morning, terminal 7 was just quiet and gave an unwelcoming sense somehow. The terminal was old with closed space and no windows after arriving into the terminal from the jetbridge. There wasn't really any staff there to guide passengers around and signage was unclear. I had to meet up with my parents who were arriving on an Emirates flight into terminal 4. The internet connection took me some time to get as it kept cutting off, not allowing me to connect. There weren't many restaurants around and the things that were there didn't look too appetizing. Also, there weren't a lot of seats in the departure or arrival lounge, and with the busy nature of the airport, it was just chaotic just trying to find a place to stand. Overall, I would say, if you can, try to avoid this airport. The facilities are outdated and staff weren't really happy to help with needed.

Everything went smoothly at New York JFK - going through the airport from taking the AirTrain from the subway to getting on the plane. Online check-in no doubt helps as did British Airways having Terminal 7 to themselves and other owned or code share airlines like Iberia and American Airlines. Clearing security is a bit of a pain as ever (where do they find such miserable staff to work at these places?) but has to be expected now. Only other let down was the supposed "English pub" the Trafalgar. Pretty slow service and worst of all the place closed without warning an hour before my flight was due to depart. 300 people waiting for a flight right next to the pub and they decide to shut up shop - hopeless. Still a minor point as I just upped and went to the other bar in the terminal.

I departed from JFK airport recently and it offers good amenities to its passengers. I used T4 and it had more than 20 restaurants / eating joints. It also offeres a host of duty free shops. Overall a good airport.

I've always been a bit scared of JFK, so avoided it in the past. But I was very impressed. The Airtrain from Jamaica was efficient and getting through security in Terminal 7 was a doddle (perhaps being business class helped) with efficient helpful TSA staff. There only appeared to be two gates working, which might have led to build ups come the evening rush of flights to the UK.

New York JFK is very disorganized. The immigration line was a long maze through barriers and hard to tell where US citizens, and non-citizens lines began or ended. The line was very slow, the hot room made it worse. There were too many unorganized steps. Most TSA lines in the US aren't as bad as JFK. JFK is a disgrace as a representative of the United States for so many visitors, and even natives. Staff are generally unfriendly if not mean. Even renovated, JFK is dirty and worn out. Seats in the shopping area were dirty, stained, worn out. We only fly in or out of JFK if there are no other possible ways of avoiding it.