Newark Airport

I returned from an international flight as a US citizen and the first challenge was figuring out where to go. We were left in an empty hallway with no signs. Customs officers were as rude to the passengers from our flight as most have relayed here. They had an exaggerated sense of importance and an underdeveloped sense of courtesy. Once through customs there was a line forming straight ahead of us we began filing down another hallway into what turned out to be baggage claim. I found my way to the gates and went to Continental's customer service. She refused to look at the boarding pass refused to look up and acknowledge me. As it turned out when the time came to board my flight the numbers did not match what was posted at this gate. There was a new agent there who looked at my pass checked the computer and informed me that my boarding pass had the wrong gate number on it and my flight was boarding at a different gate.

We took a family vacation with our family friend who is disabled. At each airport where we switched flights they showed up at the terminal with a wheelchair. At Newark airport no one showed up. We realized we were at gate 87 and needed to be at gate 233 with only a 30 min layover. We approached one of the cart services and asked them to transport our friend. The driver responded with "I'm busy. I'm on the phone." So we proceeded on to find a different type of transport. 500 ft away our friend fell before we could find another way. A woman ran over and made an incident report called for a different cart to transport him and explained to us the man who refused to help was a contract service but never disclosed the name to us.

If I had to choose between JFK and Newark I would go Newark because it is a smaller airport so everything gets done quicker. But because it is a tiny airport the facilities are really limited. No food outlets! so don't turn up 3 hrs before your flight on an empty stomach. The TSA agents are quite rude compared to JFK I've got to say JFK takes forever to go through but the TSA agents are a lot friendlier which makes a huge difference. As opposed to Newark where they yell at you even when you ask them politely "Excuse me m'am could you please..." they yell at you "Follow the diagram!" or "Check the Sign! Don't you understand? Find a sign and follow it!". JFK is completely different you speak politely to the agents and they are polite to you too.

Flew in from Manchester (UK) on Continental. Arrived at gate at 1425 and was driving away in my hire car by 1515 which was a result of excellent signage a good Airtrain system and Dollar Express. On return everything was very straightforward helped again by good directions and check-in.

This airport is definitely dated by it's inconvenient layout however that is something I can somewhat except due to the change in security measures. The one thing that truly stood out above all things is the incompetence and rude behavior of their TSA staff. I fly several times a month all over the world and this airport by far has the worst TSA employees than any other airport.

Not the best airport but lesser of three evils when compared to JFK and LaGuardia. Newark is smaller than JFK and much more manageable and it is newer than LaGuardia and a bit less congested. A lot of people are complaining about Terminals A and B but those are currently under renovation. I imagine they will be pretty nice at the conclusion of the work. The staff is not the happiest bunch but they do their jobs efficiently. Weather-related delays at Newark are frequent. Traffic-related delays in NYC are also frequent due to the large number of planes landing at the three area airports. But still take it in a heartbeat over either JFK or LGA. It's closer to Manhattan than JFK even tough it is in New Jersey instead of New York State.

Horrendous check-in all done yourself via a touch-screen very few staff available to help with any problems. It took us over 20 mins as it could not find our booking. Very confusing layout not signed very well rude staff weren't happy to give directions. Once through security there weren't many shops and food was all fast food or ice cream. Not a lot to do and very poor duty free shop with bare shelves no testers for perfume low stock. Alcohol very cheap but perfume was more expensive. Also duty free is collected from the shop assistants who bring it to your boarding gate which is rather strange.

Limited dining options confusing layout and looks tired. Connecting between terminals A and C is rough if you do not find the doorway to catch the shuttle without going out and going through security all over again. Queuing times are can vary and is very chaotic. The phone ticket scanner batteries were running low and they were asking people to go get paper tickets. Another time the TSA person wanted to know where I was going since the phone ticket scanner just provided him my name. The name is what he needed to validate with an ID. Very third world airport.

I travelled out of Newark to London Heathrow via Terminal B. This terminal was a real disappointment compared to the terminal used by Continental. There was just a lack of facilities a basic food court on landside with only fastfood restaurants and airside a Hudson News a food stand and a pathetic duty free shop. The latter had no testers for the fragrances which was poor given I was willing to spend $50 if I could have had a sample spray. The positives was check-in and security was a breeze.

Travelling through Newark on my way to Chicago was a nightmare. I have to agree with several of the previous reviews that point out how unprofessional and rude immigration control can be. I (and I'm sure many of the other reviewers) have entered more than one other country as a foreigner (as well as the US through other airports) and so will have a fair idea of what to expect from immigration control officials. I witnessed an incident of an officer being unduly rude to a fellow traveller in a similar way to an incident in a previous review so this must not be all that isolated or unusual. Waiting times for baggage and to go through other security areas could also be improved. I was not there at a particularly busy period and yet waiting times were significantly longer than one would expect from an airport of this size. Further signage and direction finding must be improved. There were several information points around the airport that would have probably been helpful if there had been anyone at them. I passed 3 or 4 on my way to my connection and not one had a staff member present. I would avoid this airport if possible in the future.