New York JFK Airport

JFK is my home airport and I've always had positive experiences except for the last time I traveled there Delta's Terminal 3. The check-in hall was absolutely depressing low-ceilings poorly maintained and crowded. Security however was a breeze as usual from my experiences at JFK. The departure area was dreadful low-ceilings again felt so cramped and food choices were second to none I looked for apple juice (since it's my like pre-flight ritual) and found none. The seating area was cozy however but I can't imagine departing from this terminal during the evening rush hour. I wouldn't fly Delta again just to avoid Terminal 3 which would soon be demolished so that's something good. Absolutely horrible.

Flight last Friday night was canceled due to apparently Air traffic Control. There was 2 people to serve the 5 canceled flight passengers it took 2.5 hours to speak to someone to get a place on the next day same time (10.45pm). No hotels available around the airport. Bad management bad service and bad experience!

Have just returned from a trip to New York and was appalled by the whole JFK experience. On landing we were prepared for the usual wait and slow immigration process but what we were not prepared for was the shocking way the staff treat traveller's arriving in their country. The officer was rude treated us with no respect or common courtesy and very intimidating. While processing my passport he jumped up from his chair and proceeded to push the other waiting passengers into a line he did not excuse himself and treated me as if I was a criminal. All the other staff at immigration has similar bad attitude. I will never use JFK again.

Unbelievably long lines at immigration with a chaotic feel about the whole place. It is clear that T4 is completely overwhelmed by arrivals (this was a Saturday afternoon) and has stretched well beyond breaking point. We waited over 2 hours for immigration standing without water or bathroom access.

Arrived terminal 4 at 12.15am and initially only 2 desks open for non-US eventually 3 more desks opened but took 50 minutes to get through. We were lucky as were near front of the plane. Departure the queue for security was very long but got through in30 minutes. We had access to the Oasis lounge which was excellent. We left the lounge but discovered the flight was delayed the rest of the departure was rubbish lack of seating and dingy.

Over 2 hours to get through immigration in a long line that looked like something from Disney World. We love going to New York but this is really putting us off. We have had our finger prints scanned before at JFK so why isn't the technology there to just scan your prints and walk through rather than going through the very slow process of showing your passport and slowly scanning your finger prints again.

I have been in many airports all over the world this was my worst experience yet. After a long flight from Tokyo had to queue for over 2 hours to show our passports. Extremely rude verging on aggressive passport control lady checked our passports. All staff seemed very rude lazy and unhelpful. Like it was a great imposition on them to do their job. I could not believe this was how we were welcomed to NY the premier city of the USA. Left a very bad impression on us of America. This is the worst airport experience I have had in many years of travel through dozens of countries.

As has been said before what you feel about JFK will depend on what terminal you've used. Terminal 1: When it was first renovated this was probably the best terminal in JFK. It's starting to show it's age a bit though. Security lines are generally not too bad though at busier times the wait can be long. Of the ones I've used Lufthansa has a very nice lounge Alitalia and Korean are unimpressive. The shops restaurants and bars close relatively early. For arrivals the immigration lines can be quite long but this is true for all international arrivals in JFK. Terminals 2 & 3: Delta terminals are easily the worst ones in JFK. Aside from the fact that the architecture of Terminal 3 is nice it is difficult to say anything positive about these Terminals. I understand that Terminal 2 is due for demolition. Terminal 4: Has also recently been renovated and is quite decent. If you have access the Emirates lounge is excellent. Terminal 5: The JetBlue terminal is quite nice. Check-in is straight forward and security lines are usually manageable. Once inside it's spacious with a decent selection of shops restaurants and bars. Overall I think most of the terminals are ok as is connecting between them. Where JFK fails big time is the connection to Manhattan. Cabs are expensive for the comfort and in any case take about 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. With the exception of Terminal 4 you have to wait outside for the cabs which is not pleasant in the winter cold. Subway is cheap and depending on where you're going not all that much longer than taxis though it involves a lot of walking until you get to the subway stop. A faster train service (comparable to NJ Transit to Newark) would be a great addition.

It all comes down to which airline you arrive or depart from JFK. Certain parts of this airport are old dirty and service poor. Then you have parts of the airport where certain airlines have invested money to make the terminals nicer and more comfortable. Same rule applies to passport control and speed of control on arrival. Security on departure can be slow but is understandable usually waiting time is ok. This airport needs to modernise its appearance and services. Lounges also showing their age.

No real seating until you get to the gate very poor quality of shops and eateries both landslide and airside the only good thing was that we managed to skip the security queues as flying premium economy with virgin.