Terminal 1 — Attraction in New York

Dirty, old, cramped, and disorganized. Probably one of the worst airports in the world.

Departing from the airport, most of the food options are in the food court before security. The food court in itself isn't bad, but isn't really great either. There is a McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, and a few other food stands.

The staff at security are very rude. It seems like there is a lot of staff standing around doing nothing, and the ones that are doing something are niether friendly nor helpful. A woman who was stationed at the entrance of the security line was literally yelling at travelers because they weren't going into her line, however it was confusing because she was standing under a huge sign that said airline staff only. I feel like a worker like this should not be yelling at travelers "CAN YOU HEAR?!?", "MOVE", "HELLOOOOOO". Somebody like this should definitely not be working there, and if she is, maybe she should learn how to read the signs posted where she is standing or maybe management should actually do something to make an organized security area which would move guests faster. However, it seems like management at this airport has no interest in actually improving anything.

Once you get after security, there is almost no seating to wait for your flight. The terminal is hot. The free WiFi is slow and isn't really free. You need to watch a commercial to get onto it and it is only free for 30 minutes. Also the free WiFi is only the slow speed. If you want faster wifi, you need to pay. The whole area is run down, there seems to be no maintenance program in place here. There are many broken lights making the place feel dimly lit. Walls are dirty/patched up everywhere and there is not effort to make it look nice. Ceilings are dirty and in poor repair. Fixing simple things like this would make the experience more pleasant.

Things get worse when you arrive to terminal 1. There seems to be not enough space for people to wait in the customs area, so they make people wait in a narrow corridor leading to it which was not designed for waiting in. Instead of putting up some sort of barrier to make room for airport staff which need to use the corridor, there is constantly a need to move over as staff need to pass through with carts, wheelchairs, etc.

I waited over 2 hours for luggage at the baggage claim. This was a very frustrating experience. There is very little information and help at the baggage claim when things don't go right. The excuse for the wait for the luggage was that there were technical difficulties, which makes sense when you are in an airport where the whole terminal is falling apart. Waiting long over 2 hours for luggage though is really unacceptable.

Barely audible announcements kept saying the luggage would come out in a few minutes. Obviously 2 hours is not a few minutes. My flight was coming from Europe and had over 500 passengers and everyone had to wait there. I think this is a frequent problem. They have big signs posted not to leave the area without your luggage, because people get frustrated, or need to make another flight, and leave without their luggage. A TSA officer said it happens all the time that they just don't have enough people to unload the luggage. Instead of fixing the problem, their solution is to have nobody speak to at the baggage claim. Any staff which are there say you need to speak to a baggage claim agent, however for most of the time there was no one there. On the displays, there was no information about the status of the luggage, including when the baggage claim number changed. There seems to be very poor management here and when they run into problems, they are unable to help you with them. In addition the vending machines in the area only accept dollar bills and no cards, which doesn't make sense at an international terminal.

Overall, as an American, I feel embarrassed that this is the first impression of the United States for people coming from other countries. I don't fly much but the airports in Frankfurt and Warsaw were much better, and JFK...

The check in line was long but efficient and it moved along well. The person that helped me check in was really great. Very friendly, chatty and smiling but efficient at the same time.

They really need a rethink a few things to keep in touch with other international airports. I found the people at security to be pleasant but the queue system is a bit messy. There is a snake/zig zag queue system which is good but once you get through that you choose an individual line to join. That’s when it’s just a mass of people in each others way. Then because of strict security measures you’ve got solo travellers needing 4-6 items to pass through security, including shoes. Everything has to be separated - electrics, bags, coats, food, liquids. If you’ve got food in opaque packages, it will likely be scanned again using a hand scanner afterwards.

Once through security the food and drink options are not good. You’ve got an overpriced pub/bar with push button food at high prices or a couple of express sandwich type places. The bar restaurant staff were again quite friendly but we waited for a drink for 15 minutes. By the time I got it my food arrived. Does making a burger and pouring a sprite take the same time? In that time period the barman was on his phone. I asked the waitress and she just pointed at the barman.

Edit 01/2020: there is now a Starbucks, Lavazza coffee stall, an Asian place, a pizza place and a few more generic food places. Starbucks staff friendly.

If you’ve got time there are a few more options before security like Dunkin donuts, McDonalds and Starbucks. If you’ve got no time i’d probably go to the express sandwich place and pay over the odds there instead of the bar restaurant.

I’m not really interested in shopping but options also seem quite limited. Not much of anything in terminal 1 but I would say again all the people working there I met were really nice...

This airport is ridiculous. My 16 year old daughter has a 10 hour layover because the airline changed her flight, so this was not the flight we purchased for her. The previous had only a 3 hour layover. No one treated her with any sympathy and kindness. No one helped her. There is not even any decent place for her to sit on this horrible 10 hour layover. My daughter was panicking with me over the phone and having anxiety. The person a the desk would not even take the phone from her and speak with me or her father. So RUDE! So INSENSITIVE! My daughter was even in tears and not one airport worker offered her any assistance or helped show her where to go. Of course because she had to wait 10 hour she could not wait near her boarding zone where the actual seating is. My daughter said almost everyone she did interact with that worked there was really mean and rude to her. This is her first big flight like this and it has been the worse experience ever for her. We thought it would be better for her to switch flights in the United States, but that was a mistake. Next time she will switch flight in France or Holland and avoid JFK!

Beware... Because we even bought her room at the airport hotel on site so she could wait there, but they would not allow her in because of her age. Also would not let her in at the airport lounge because of her age. So Teenagers may be able to fly on international flights, but international airports will not let them take rooms or wait in the lounge (even if it is paid...