New York JFK Airport

This is the busiest airport on earth. What a dire experience. You have just spent 7+ hours flying from Heathrow to be welcomed by some of the most hostile, lazy and disorganised border control I have ever encountered. To hear one of the officers broadcast that he was going on his break was a joke, at least do it discreetly and get someone to cover him. I am a seasoned traveller and have previously travelled to Chicago, they were slicker and far more friendly. I knew it was going to be trouble at border control, four officers for the 100 or so US citizens, four officers for the 600+ international line. As we were told 3 long haul flights got in within 20 minutes of each other. Ludicrous, have more staff to accommodate the greater demand. You are barked at by the most patronising, power happy lot I have ever come across. Is that a pre-requisite to getting a job with border control? These are the first faces that international travellers see, put your best people here. Just to get our passports checked took an hour and 30 minutes. This is poor, I've travelled through Sydney, Bangkok and Auckland in half the time. This is your flagship airport, it is in the dark ages. Terminal 7 is a disgrace, it is in massive need of an upgrade. It was unclean and tiny. You have much to learn from Heathrow.

Appalling 3 hr wait at Passport Control. Like many other reviews on here we experienced the 3 hr wait to clear Passport control at JFK. This is the worst passport experience that I have ever come across. In comparison when I returned to the UK it took half hour from stepped off the plane to walking out of the airport, and that was also stopping to get coffee. There were only four staff manning the passport control and around eight staff barking orders on which line to get in and where to go. It was absolute chaos, flights kept arriving and the queue got longer and the staff constantly reminded that it was for 'security' During our stay in NYC we visited Ellis Island, it seemed easier to access the USA 200 years ago with an infection than it did to clear JFK in this modern age. Well done JFK.

I flew to Tokyo Narita and back from Terminal 1 with JAL. Departure was at 9am and check-in and security were fast. Several post-security dining options and decent duty-free shopping. Return is easy and fast for US citizens, though not for international visitors, who had to wait in a huge line. As a US Passport holder, I was directed to a group of Automated Passport Control kiosks that made immigration quick and easy. However, we arrived at Baggage Claim way before our baggage was delivered. There was no listing for our JAL flight baggage claim location on the terminal's screens, but JAL placed signs at various locations in the area instead. Easy to miss. After picking up baggage, the line through Customs was long and chaotic, with agents running around and shouting orders at passengers. I would recommend Terminal 1 for American citizens, but not for international visitors.

New York JFK Airport is the worst airport I have ever been to, and the first airport where I have not been able to purchase duty free - because my international flight departs from terminal 2 (domestic terminal). Very poor.

Having landed for our first trip in New York we were excited to start exploring but our first experience was dreadful. A 3 hour queue through passport control. Very poorly staffed and slow computers, no air conditioning. Not the best way to start a holiday.

Worst experience ever with TSA, we were flying in from Rome and trying to get to our connecting flight, we had 2 hours and we didn't make it due to the chaos in security, TSA employees were rude and horribly disorganized. Isn't it their responsibility to move thousands of international travelers through security, don't they know how many flights are coming in daily and can guess at the number of people and the number of employees needed to do the job they are supposed to? TSA definitely doesn't do the job expected if them.

New York JFK is an outdated airport with poor quality and choice of shops and restaurants. Terminals were dark and cramped. Queues were long, exacerbated by low numbers of uninterested and unfriendly staff. Wifi is spotty and only avaliable for 30 minutes. Only one security checkpoint was open which doesn't help speed up the stringent security procedures of America. A poor introduction and conclusion to one of the world's leading cities.

After a pleasant 7 hour flight from the UK we arrived in the security hall of terminal 8 to a massive queue. We passed through security 3.5 hrs later. There are 32 desks available but there were never more than 6 in use at any one time. There are posters in front of each desk stating that border control is the "public face" of the USA. Yet this mismanagement seems to be deliberately designed to upset foreign visitors before we even enter the country. We have visited the states several times before and immigration has always been bad, but this time they have beaten their own record. It will definitely make us think twice before returning to New York JFK.

New York JFK Airport. Arrival, no problem. Departure, the design of the terminal (8) was terrible. Signage was poor and seemed primarily concerned with Priority and executive travellers. There seemed no advantage to checking in online and printing off boarding passes prior to arrival. If anything, we waited longer. One, single, very long line to security. Bins were not for bags and shoes but it made it difficult for them to go through the machine. Minimal shopping and dining once inside.

We arrived in a crowded immigration hall. Though not the first time with ESTA in the US, we chose the line for First time ESTA as it was rather empty unlike the other. No one cared. We got thru the process fairly fast for JFK, less than 30 minutes. Last time it took me 2 hours. Line to get the bags checked (though we had carry on only) was very long then, so was the taxi line, which was 40 minutes. The airport has a bad connection to Downtown, we made like a sightseeing tour thru Brooklyn on small streets with traffic. Flying back was a little easier, terminal 4 with priority boarding was a no brainer, Delta lounge was ok. Still Newark might be the better option for NYC.