Newark Airport

Not Verified | Check in is a nightmare, self check in seemed to be the only option, no assistance what so ever. Then at bag drop off, the staff were as unfriendly as rude, very disappointed, at security the staff just dont know how to control the influx of passengers, directed from one place to another, everything taken out of bag and put into the boxes, when you ask about passport and docs, get told that you keep them with you only until you have to pass through the scanner then you get told go and put it back in a box. These people don't have a clue how to organize. Being a traveller to various places around the world, Newark will not see me if i can help it.

Not Verified | I have flown out of this airport twice in the last month. It is crowded, security lines are long, and departures and arrival traffic is insane, and so disorganized. Waiting spaces are crowded and the staff seemed to angry to be there. I hate having to fly out of here.

Not Verified | Horrible experience. Staff super rude, not only with us but also with other passengers simply asking for information. We were all treated so badly. I have travelled the world, and I honestly don’t remember this type of treatment anywhere else. In addition, my husband and I were unable to access to the lounge (despite having a priority pass membership), as we were told that this was only allowed in Terminal B (we were in Terminal C). Finally, our flight was delayed by one hour. If you can choose, please don’t choose this airport.

Not Verified | They literally sell fifteen kinds of water in this spirit and no sparkling. None. All these “different” kinds of water are marketing ripoffs. Surely you could manage a perion somewhere in there. One damn bottle. Also not a bag of pretzels. Three hundred kinds of the same thing is not choice. Come on!

Not Verified | This is the worst airport ever! I never had such a terrible experience as I had yesterday. I was flying out for vacation with my family. I arrived at the airport before 5:00am for an 8am flight with united airlines. Due to a lack of staff because of Covid, they took over 1hr to check us in because of a system issue. I had to wait in a long line at customs and when I got to my gate, the gate was closed! They told me that there was a 10am flight that I could possibly get to if I would go to customer service. When I got to customer service, they gave me standby tickets and told me the flight would be delayed until 2pm. I waited all day for them to tell me that the flight was full! I am highly upset, I did not even go on my vacation. They told me to try for another flight for the next day which would be a red eye, but that was completely pointless since my vacation was only 5 days long.

✅ Trip Verified | I have flown all over the world, & Newark is simply the poorest airport I have ever departed from. Security was chaotic, understaffed & judging by the equipment, lacked investment. The departure lounge has insufficient seating, no defined queuing areas, is massively overcrowded, has no facilities, is far too hot, & the PA system can't be heard over the noise. In short it is a complete shambles. New York/New Jersey authorities should be utterly ashamed & embarrassed by such a poor, dysfunctional airport. I have experienced far superior airports in countries with GDP's less than that of New York.

✅ Trip Verified | Fly here if you want to deal with rude TSA workers. I understand working in customer service can be a huge pain but there was no professionalism in anyone until I got on the plane. Also walking through the airport every worker looked like they hate their lives and the airport.

✅ Trip Verified | Avoid this place. We had a reasonable 38 minute layover at Terminal 3, with both flights on the same big airline. Newark Facilities couldn't figure out how to connect the terminal ramp to the normal plane, so our deplaning was delayed about 10 minutes. We hustled to the gate of our connecting flight and arrived 8 minutes early. Only to find no one there and the plane gone, while the sign said "Now Boarding Zone 3". No announcements about boarding were heard on the fast trot there. Customer Service tells us Newark Facilities (the same clowns that delayed our deplaning) ordered our connecting flight to leave early. Thus between 4.30 to 9.20pm, we were stuck at this place. Good size terminal with many shops, but nowhere to sit down and order a nice dinner from a human and relax. The few shops that sold food, sold the same 12 items or so, at every place. Nothing healthy and nothing gluten free, which we need, just the exact 12 things everywhere. If we wanted to buy chips (potato, Fretos, Doritos, etc.), they had 1000's of options to choose from, but the opposite for every other type of food - it was ridiculous. As a captive market we expect to be gouged at an airport, but this place was by far and away the biggest gouger - triple most airports. $24 for a simple mixed drink, $17 for a small re-made salad or sandwich. No humans to order from, just the same kiosks everywhere, half of which didn't work.

Not Verified | Newark Airport is underrated - if you know what you're doing. To most travelers, EWR is a very confusing airport with lots of (not so great connections) around the airport. However, once you get the hang of things, EWR is a nice airport with lots of amenities. Getting there, parking is very open most of the time, and most of the time you have to either book 24hrs in advance or go to Short Term parking. They accept multiple forms of payment such as EZ-Pass and credit cards (Terminal C accepts Cash). Getting there on train is also convenient from the city as NJTransit operates to Newark every 15-30 minutes from NY Penn Station. The AirTrain could be down occasionally, so make sure you have time to get to the terminal before your flight. About terminals, Terminal C and B have adequate facilities and places to shop. Terminal A however, is being torn down to make way for Terminal 1 in the future. Terminal A is one of the most dated terminals there is, and I would only recommend flying out of it unless you HAVE to (i.e JetBlue, United Express, Air Canada etc.). Security can be very slow at times at Terminal A (especially during busy hours). Terminal B is the international terminal. This terminal is somewhat dated, however, is way better than Terminal A. Customs are relatively quick here, never had an issue getting through. The last terminal (and where most of EWR's travelers go through) is Terminal C. Terminal C is the best terminal at current hands down. United has modernized this terminal to fit the needs of the modern traveler. The TSA process can be from what I experienced to be anywhere from 5-20 minutes, which isn't that bad. Be warned though, prices do get steep here in terms of retail options and dining options. There is very little cheap food options (besides the Wendy's and Dunkin Donuts, or the Starbucks pre-security), so if you want a good meal, be prepared to shell out some extra cash. Getting to any gate at Terminal C is relatively easy, as if you don't need to walk, there's buggies driving around taxing people through crowds to get to gates. (don't forget to tip them!). So in short from this review, if you're going in Newark, if the trip is a couple bucks extra going out of Newark on United in Terminal C, do it. Terminal C will be your greatest for connections, as well as overall amenities.

✅ Trip Verified | It appears that Newark Airport vendors are set up to horribly disappoint, if not anger, all travelers with reasonable expectations surrounding price, customer service, transparency, consistency and quality. Let's start with prices. One expects prices to be higher than normal in an airport but Newark has determined to outdo all other airports and even NFL stadiums in this category. $25 for a gin and tonic, $15 for a breakfast burrito (a marginal one at that) are examples of prices experienced. Convenience store items like snacks are priced similarly, knowing that no one would purchase if the price was visible, you never know the price until you check out. I had the pleasure of ordering breakfast at the Grand Bazaar (fancy name for food court). Order food on the tablet, then you are told to go pay elsewhere. Go to another tablet in a different area and pay (with a horribly convoluted process if you are given food vouchers which obviously won't cover the full price of your meal). You are given the option of "no receipt" which most opt for (luckily not I) as when you return to where you ordered your food you are required to present proof of payment. I saw that happen a half dozen times in less than 15 minutes. After waiting a very long time, I asked about my order (having already provided proof of payment when called earlier) and was told she could see my order. Interestingly, a container with my order number was sitting right next to her which I pointed out and they then assembled my order. I have to say, McDonalds breakfast burritos are far superior in taste to the one I got. For starters, it mainly consisted of about 6 eggs worth of unseasoned scrambled eggs with part of a sausage link cut up with a couple of small pieces of bell pepper and onion. It came with a side of cut up potatoes with no options for condiments to add flavor. With a career in retail, I've never seen a misalignment of personnel, product and process as bad as this.