Jfkairport Avis 

Appalling management of security screeneng, total chaos and exceptionally rude and loud personell that yawn and look at their mobile in fromt of you.

Luggage drop off. 3-4 people working, severely understaffed. This has been the worst experience I have had in a buggage drop off. Standing in line for 1.5 hours. I have seen luggage drop off from under developed countries being much more organised.
Then another amazingly big queue for
Security.
For this airport you need to be present at least 3.5 hours prior to
Flying

2 years ago we had the most awful time arriving at JFK airport Terminal 4, when it took over 3 hours at the Border and then we couldn't find our suitcases and the experience of getting a taxi was appalling BUT this time arriving couldn't have been more different. Through the Border within an hour, luggage still on the carousel and a taxi service in place that worked really well.
However, the experience leaving the country was still not good. Staff are rude and unhelpful and going through security is just a nightmare. Other countries manage it so that is not an ordeal but leaving the country made us wish we had an alternative airport. Security is a serious and important aspect of travel but it doesn't have to made more unpleasant and more difficult by the treatment and attitude metered out by the staff. The whole process is chaotic, unpleasant and inconsistent - the airport has made progress in other areas since our last visit - it can only be hoped attention is now turned to improving the security system, to ensure it is more efficient and more consistent for all travellers going forward.

The purpose of an airport is to provide for travellers, departing, arriving or connecting. This requires infrastructure, easy to read guidance on where to go and clean functioning ways to get to and from gate. It is not dirty at all, shops are fine, BUT.... Train is horrible. 15-25 minutes between air trains between terminals. Communication and help nonexisting. Overcrowded left half the people unable to get on train. Security was unfriendly but OK. Looks and feels like a third world airport.

What a shame for a city like New York to operate an airport like this!
La Guardia feels like a 5 Star Hotel when compared with JFK. Unvelievable.
Will never travel via this airport again.

rude TSA workers, if I could give a lower score I would. I came in from London on March 24 into Terminal 4 with a connecting flight to Orlando in the same terminal. Why did I have to go out of security and back in for a connecting flight? We arrived at 12:30pm and my flight was at 3:40pm. Needless to say, I missed my connecting flight as did hundreds of others. I was in a security line for 4.5 hours Any TSA person you tried to ask a question through said I can't answer that keep moving, I don't know keep moving. They were merging lines upon lines upon lines. For the thousands of people there at the time there were only 5 security lines open. There were limited ICE personnel there, but they were just standing around. They were not assisting TSA with the security lines. Worst airport ever!! Thank goodness for Delta they were able to get me on the last flight to Orlando as I spoke to them while in the security line. Thank you DELTA AIRLINES!!

If i could give a 0 I would.
There customs and border staff and TSA have got to be the most arrogant human beings I've ever met!!
Maybe since 9/11 they think they are above everyone else and think customers travelling on to connecting flights are the poop on there shoes!
I was going to go to New York at some point because of the awful atrocities that did happen in 2001 but I think I'll give it a pass and go somewhere else because if the locals are anything like the staff that work in there airport then I think my personality and temperament would not go down well there.

👆🏻that is actually minus 1!!! Absolutely dreadful experience at this airport both inbound then outbound, stood in a queue with no seating or air con for 1:5 hrs, then this horrid monster of a woman started barking orders at people, I don’t know who the hell she thought she was but people were left stunned and terrrified it was atrocious there was 4 flights came in and 3 people on it was disgusting, our transfer text to say our time was up and he could not wait any longer fortunately we got him……just On the way back we were checking in only to get a receipt saying contact the desk, apparently we were on standby we were told to wait at the end of the T4 British Airways line and that the supervisors would help us, no one came near and in the end after lying on the floor at 54 with fibromyalgia my daughter went to see these two delinquents we explained what had happened and the one named Sharon said I’m right in the middle of something and put her head back down my daughter went nuts so she then asked where we were flying to and we said London Heathrow and she abruptly said with a sneer on her stupid face that all flights from there went to Heathrow…why bloody ask that then!!!!then her partner in crime came up with nothing being said to us and they started talking about us in front of our faces this other one said are they connecting and big bird said I couldn’t care!!!! Next thing (bearing in mind we’d been told we were on standby) it’s now 6:30 she abruptly gave us our tickets and said your flight is at 10 past 7 our original flight was 20:40!!! I’m so angry I can barely write this, she knew we were cutting it fine as anyone who knows that airport knows the scale of it, it was wrong on every level I’ve not even included other crap that went on I’m disgusted and shocked at the treatment we received from two inadequate horrid rude abysmal excuses for women that these two were, I’m writing to the airport and will not be leaving thus any any shape of form. Someone who isn’t as forthcoming as myself and my daughter would actually be so intimidated and left feeling horrendous one word DISGUSTING!

Security is an absolute joke!!! When we arrived they had 5 out of 50 desks open and we had to queue for nearly an hour! Then, when leaving the US they has 1, yes 1 security desk open.

My experience in T8 was average as a passenger. I definitely recommend to JFK airport to offer a better service to customers, it is suppose to be on the top 10 busiest airports in the world, yet non of those top 10 airports have taken a holistic approach in passenger experience, they are all the same, same shops, crowded, no real passenger experience solution. I came across a company called "Zen Space - Your moment" which are offering relaxation cabins-pods to airports, companies, homes, and they are a perfect fit these airports, they will soon launch at the first European airport which will be the first airport in the world to offer such a solution. JFK should contact them and get some cabins from them, it will definitely increase a lot the passenger experience satisfaction rate.

You may not believe JFK can get any worse, but once the morons running this shitshow hit rock bottom they start digging.

If you are unfortunate enough to land on Terminal 5, have fun traveling miles to get a measly Uber. Apparently the grandiose construction plans taking place for the next several decades are to blame.

JFK isn’t an airport, it’s a dystopian checkpoint masquerading as travel infrastructure. The chaos isn’t accidental; it feels engineered to break you down.

Immigration: Two booths open for a thousand people. Hours wasted while staff bark orders like drill sergeants.

Security: Aggressive pat-downs that cross every boundary of professionalism. Zero respect, zero accountability.

Facilities: Construction everywhere, taxi “systems” that are basically shakedowns, and food priced like ransom ($20 sandwiches).

Staff: Rude, indifferent, or outright hostile. If you need help, expect sarcasm. If you have a disability, expect to be ignored.

This place drains you of time, money, and dignity. You leave feeling less like a traveler and more like you’ve survived a processing plant designed to remind you who’s in charge.

Reality check: Other airports prove travel doesn’t have to be this way. JFK is willful neglect, systemic disrespect, and corporate profiteering wrapped into one. If you value your sanity, avoid it at all costs.

easily the worst airport i've ever been to, immigration takes over a hour.
A sandwich is about $20.
Staff i meet were super rude
Out of stock for stuff
Absolute Dump, try fly into another airport

I am a disabled traveler travelling with my family, we arrived at JFK airport on the 10 August 2025 @ about 4.30pm. Not very helpful staff at the Counter/ Delta airways Check in desk, outside. We waited there for a considerable long time, then was told to check inside at Virgin check in desk. The lady took time to check in even though i was disabled.
They told us to make our OWN way to security. This was a nightmare, they told myself and my husband to wait to the side, and made us wait more then 45 minutes for a security staff to physically check us and the wheelchair,
we kept asking in between that we are waiting and we are going to be late, but they didn’t seem to care. I felt dumbed to the side and forgotten about. The 2 security staff (man and a woman) were young and grumpy, working on that day. A lady security eventually came to check me, who took time with unnecessary checks. When we checked the flight information board, it was the Last Call for our flight. When reached the desk it was too late, we missed 7.30 pm flight to London.
These people made us late, by unnecessary checks because of my disability and treated us disgracefully, ignored us repeatedly by just shoving us to the side, despite telling them time and time again to check us. Very disgraceful shocking service for a disabled person.

The only person who helped was a lady at the next flight check in, who checked us in for the next flight. But the flight didn’t take our baggages on board. We had to keep chasing these, all baggages numbers were mixed up by the staff. We had to wait 3 days to for baggage to arrive.

Our experience was very bad at JFK Airport, the way they treat travellers and the disabled, rude, aggressive, not polite, no empathy, or with any understanding. Most of the staff were very grumpy and unwelcoming. I have travelled to other countries, they are so understanding and prioritise the disabled and treated us with respect and care. In future i think i will avoid JFK.

Rude and aggressive security staff.
If I could score zero, I would.
We had been travelling since 10.45 on 8th July 25, our flight from Orlando to JFK had been delayed, causing us to miss our connection. We had to stay in a foreign country, with our daughter, who had been unwell the last 3 days, for another day. When we got to the airport we were all stressed, joined the security Q, when I got to the scanner, the security officer held up my bag, I said mine, I thought she asked me to go thru, but when I got to the other side, I was accused of ignoring her request, apparently I was asked to go back.
I was then abused by her, accusing me of not emptying my water bottles which had been filled from the previous days flight, and had not been reminded about emptying, while in the Q. The choice I was given was to rejoin the security Q or bin my bottles, 3 of them.
Bearing in mind, we had missed our connecting flight, the previous day, through no fault of our own, I couldn't take the risk.
I hope this guard does not deem themselves a Christian, as their was no kindness, empathy or compassion shown towards us. She was more demonic. I hope leaving my daughter with a lasting memory of her 2 week holiday in Orlando, is the horrible woman who took her water bottle makes her feel proud and strong.

Review of JFK Airport – TSA Agent Violated Protocol and My Bodily Autonomy (May 2025)

I had a shocking and deeply violating experience at JFK Airport’s security checkpoint in late May 2025, Terminal 4. This was not just uncomfortable – it was humiliating, degrading, and a clear breach of TSA’s own guidelines.

Even before the physical search, the general atmosphere at the checkpoint was deeply unsettling. TSA personnel were shouting orders at passengers in the most aggressive and demeaning tone, creating a climate of fear and humiliation. The way people were spoken to — barked at like inmates — made it feel more like a prison camp than an international airport. And in many ways, that’s exactly how it felt: once you’re in TSA’s custody, they can treat you however they want. That sense of total vulnerability and lack of protection was overwhelming.

After I passed through the body scanner, my pelvic area was flagged. I was wearing a bodysuit under my clothes. Instead of performing a standard pat-down over clothing, as TSA policy requires, the female agent inserted her fingers inside my waistband, pulled down and outward on my pants, and looked into my pants from behind — in full view of other passengers and a male officer who stood nearby and did nothing to intervene.

She then reached into all of my jeans pockets, touched me repeatedly with a flat hand, and grabbed both my buttocks and pelvic area multiple times — slowly and deliberately. I was already standing with my feet placed exactly on the printed foot outlines on the floor, yet she demanded that I spread my legs even further. Her movements were slow and repeated — it truly felt like she was using her "authority" to cross boundaries and violate me, not to ensure safety.

At one point, while I was facing her, she began manipulating the button and zipper of my pants. Had I not asked what she was doing, I had the clear sense that she would have unfastened and opened my pants completely — in full public view. I was partially exposed already, and I strongly believe that people nearby could see parts of my underwear and upper buttocks. That alone constitutes a serious breach of privacy and dignity.

TSA’s official policy clearly states that officers may not insert hands inside clothing or move clothing aside, and must only conduct pat-downs over the clothing. Additionally, agents are required to use the backs of their hands when screening sensitive areas — such as the groin or buttocks — yet in my case, she repeatedly used her open palms to touch and press into those areas. This was not a proper security screening — it was misconduct and a misuse of power.

TSA scanners also appear to disproportionately flag women’s pelvic areas — often due to menstruation, tight clothing, or hygiene products such as pads or tampons — leading to degrading and unnecessary physical searches. The technology and procedures seem calibrated around the default male body and clothing, without accounting for female anatomy, garments, or health-related needs. As a result, women are far more likely to be flagged and subjected to these invasive searches. This is not just a technical flaw — it’s systemic gender bias disguised as “security.”

Although I was offered a private room, I declined — I had no reason to expect that refusing would result in public exposure and physical violation. At no point did I feel safe, respected, or protected.

This experience left me feeling deeply shaken, powerless, and violated. It was not a legitimate security procedure — it was a misuse of authority that crossed fundamental personal boundaries.

I have submitted a formal complaint to JFK Airport and TSA. I also want to note that many travelers have shared similar experiences online — especially women. Public reviews on TrustPilot, Google, and Skytrax describe JFK as the most aggressive, abusive, and disrespectful airport they’ve ever encountered. Many state they will go out of their way to avoid JFK in the future — and I feel exactly the same.

This type of treatment must never be normalized.

Building work at JFK is causing horrendous difficulties! T7 arrivals has no pick up facilities! Had to get an Airtrain to T8 to find our booked transfer which was not where the driver said he’d be! Facilities in T7 departure was utter pants!

I honestly believe is the airport with the rudest staff in the world — and I say this after having traveled extensively across the globe, including all over America.
At JFK airport, the staff are not just unfriendly; they are openly rude, treating passengers like a herd of cattle, rushing people without any basic respect or courtesy.
What’s even more disappointing is that they seem unable to perform simple tasks — like understanding whether a bottle contains too much or too little water — and behave as if travelers are an inconvenience rather than their reason for having a job.
There are many fast-paced cities in the world — Tokyo, Singapore, London, Dubai — where professionalism and courtesy are never sacrificed, even under pressure.
The speed of the city is no excuse for rudeness.
I have been to NYC many times, but things seem to get worse every time — or maybe I am simply becoming more "allergic" to rude behavior.
Perhaps someone should remind these incredibly rude employees that without tourists, there would be no salaries to pay.
Sadly, this experience has made me lose any desire to return.

Guys at Check in baggage just mumble and do not pay attention to what is required or what they want you to do
Once in your plane they make you wait up to 2 hours for takeoff even if the plane was ready on time
They prioritise AMERICAN branded airlines for takeover before any international take offs- this is a known thing apparently according to pilots