Newark Airport

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.

My comments apply only to Terminal B (non-CO international some domestic). The terminal's landside is fine but airside is pathetic in terms of amenities food and shopping. The International Arrivals facility is probably my favorite in the NYC area though -- and certainly better than Terminal C. Have generally whisked through quite quickly... last two trips through weren't during any crunch and took me no more than 10 minutes to go from gate to exit. Clean airy modern and efficient as long as there's sufficient passport and customs control staff on duty for the passenger load. Am a bit amused by all the complaints by non-US/pre-cleared reviewers about US border control taking too long and being rude -- I wonder if some of the authors have tried going through their home airport as a foreigner! It's always faster and easier re-entering your home country and you're always stuck in the longer line with the more intense and calculated ("rude?") grilling when you're entering as a foreigner!

This is about the worst airport I've ever used. I was travelling via it on my way to Houston and eventually Mexico. My main problem is with the immigration control. Its very slow and the staff have got to be seen to be believed in terms or rudeness and lack of friendliness. A lady in front of me walked up to staff member after the previous person cleared the desk. The guy then was very rude and talked down to her for an uncomfortably long period of time instead of just asking her not to come forward yet. Despite the long queues there was no sense or urgency to the extent I almost believe that they were going slow to enjoy the power of making you wait. He wasn't any more professional when it was my turn either. As I was making a connecting flight it would have been nice if there was good clear signage or anyone to help with directions around an airport of this size. Sadly there is not. A very poor airport in every respect that matters. My return journey from Cancun was a little better but not a lot mainly due to a longer time between connections and not a truly better airport experience!

Overall Terminal C is nice with plenty of room and lots of eateries/shops (especially like all of the "Diners"). However transfer to Terminal A was plain unacceptable. The staff had a care-less attitude and extremely rude. Terminal A for CO was also unacceptable. At each gate there are 3-4 flights leaving at the same time but the information screens often did not show the correct flight information. If you can stay in Terminal C you're lucky. If you have to go to Terminal A for CO be prepared!

The facilities themselves are not that awful. erminal C is a pretty standard modern big- terminal setup although terminal B is woefully lacking for an international airport and terminal A is just functional at best. At least they're kept pretty clean. The staff at EWR has always left something to be desired - probably the least helpful "help" staff of any airport I've traveled through. The redirection between security checkpoints is just somewhat worse than totally arbitrary --while theoretically they adjust based on what checkpoint has the shortest line by the time you get to what was the shortest line it is by then the longest line and half the staff has just gone on break. What really grates for me though is the AirTrain. AirTrain JFK is quick comfortable and efficient. AirTrain Newark is like some sort of bad joke. Even when it's fully functioning it is slow cramped overcrowded and dumps you onto NJ Transit trains that are very poorly suited for anyone carrying luggage.

Flew out of Newark to Houston on Continental out of Terminal C. Was as decent as a major airport can get. Took about 45 minutes to clear security. It was much faster and TSA was more polite then JFK Terminal 5. It was clean and I made it to my gate just as they started boarding which was a little tight but as it was my first time flying out of Newark and I was estimating time based on security clearance time at Los Angeles International and Burbank Airport. My one issue with the airport was that an emergency door got pushed open at some point and they just left the fire alarm going and going and going - and going. From when I got in line for security til when I cleared it was still going.

EWR is a travel nightmare. If you need to use the air train to get to the Alaska Airlines gates you will have to go through security twice. There is no order whatsoever to the design of this airport. I had allowed almost 2 hours to make my connection but with the long lines and only a few vague signs pointing you in the right direction I barely made my flight. The people who work at EWR deserve special mention - I have never seen such a stunning concentration of unhelpful people in one place. I don't know how this place could be improved without razing it and starting over with a more thoughtful layout.

Third world security at immigration. Had a three hour layover for a connecting flight to Shannon. We stood in an enormous queue for over two hours and eventually had to break queue in order to meet our flight. The TSA staff are unhelpful. No consideration given to people transiting. Allow more than 3 hours if transiting.

There was only one restroom in our departure wing in Terminal C and it had only three urinals. With 350 passengers waiting for the flight to Asia I found this to be totally unacceptable. The lineup was horrible. The next nearest restroom was at the end of the wing at the lower level (escalator down). That had only one urinal. Urgh! Ironically once we boarded the flight there were better restroom facilities than the airport.

We were being driven to EWR by a friend but got stuck in football traffic in dowtown Newark - Lesson One: use the train service from Newark Penn Station - very good and very frequent and the connecting shuttle service to the airport is frequent and fast. Our BA flight departed from Terminal B but for some strange reason check-in was in the basement near baggage collection. Lesson Two: allow a lot of time for the lifts to get down to the basement. At this point our experience with EWR declines it is badly signposted the queues for security are long and slow (there were only two check points open for non premium international passengers and over 1000 of us "plebs" leaving over a 90 minute period). Once through this pleasure there is little to keep you occupied. The gate area (Gates 60-68) is windowless the shops far and few and for some reason many of the goods in duty free are unpriced. A surprisingly poor airside airport with a good external infrastructure.