JFK Terminal 1

I don’t know what every one else is talking about I found the airport to be
Clean very organized and I got through security very fast with no hassle. Baylor of shops nearby and places to eat.

Comparing with rest of terminals, this one is best one. Here is place to eat, sit and wait for a flight.

Typical JFK terminal with a mixture of shops, clubs and restaurants. We flew to Copenhagen on Air France from here. Security went ok and we found our club and gate with no issues either. Everything was still open as midnight approached for our late takeoff. The terminal still has that old JFK feel to it.

Many airlines. Very poor customer service for disability passengers.
Waited for 1 hour to be transported from entrance to the gate. A stupid man almost broke my foot trying to go between me and a column (he was boarding a flight to Poland).
Once there, nobody paid attention to me. My flight started boarding and a fellow traveler gad to push né in; only to be stopped by a crew member who finally realized what was happening.
Upon returning… Nightmare. There were 5 wheelchairs needed for our flight we eere informed there eere only 2 available!!!

Nothing to eat here, pretty weak terminal compared to the one where Jet blue flys out of.

Worst airport ever! More than 3 hours custom wait?!
Especially after a 15 hours flight! This is crazy… hundreds of ppl waiting for 1 custom guy?! Where’s their mind?

Had a few hours to wait before our international flight which was scheduled to leave at 1 in the morning. We decided to beat the rush hour traffic to JFK’s terminal 1 and just have diner at the terminal. Well, at 10:30 pm, there are only 2 places to eat: Panini Express and Eat and Go. Both are sandwich type fast food not restaurants. The Lavazza coffee kiosk was closed and the coffee at both places was horrible (watered down) and expensive ($ 4.00/cup).
You would think that these terminals where flights leave at such a late hour would have better places to eat and be entertained. Sorry no bars either. Not even a big screen TV to watch something. Not good customer service if you ask me!

This is the worst security check in the entire America! During peak hours, it does not matter if you re global entry, business or coach, you have 30min to 1hour to wait before you get into the duty free zone, so get there in advance!

The loudspeakers blare: «Welcome to John F. Kennedy International Airport, Terminal One; where the world meets America!»
Sorry to say, America does not make a great first impression for our arriving guests.
This last century facility has been retrofitted to deal with the requirements of Homeland Security, which keeps waiting families as far away from the arrival gates as humanly possible, and herds the disembarked through baggage claim and customs before pushing them through a narrow exit lane with people waiting for glimpses of their loved ones on either side.
A total cattle call.

Blaring TVs add such an inexcusable layer of stress to this dreadful terminal that I wish the TSA line had been four times longer

Worst airport ever. Unorganized with the rudest personnel ever! Please do yourself a favor and avoid this airport!

Wow — we travel all over the world, airports large and small and have never seen such a disaster of «food options» in an international terminal. There is a long line for the 1 sit-​down restaurant, where the food is embarrassing. I see from the tags that your concessions are «HMS» and I am sorry if they have you tied to a long-​term contract… However, you would give all your customers a great gift by claiming breach for such abominable service and terminating. In addition, our waitress has a beard and the staff «called the manger 2 hours ago» to change the TV channel to watch the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team in the World Championship — HELLO — The WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP! However, 3 waitstaff people have told me that «the manager does not trust us with the remote» so they can’t change it — and he won’t respond to their calls. I’d be more worried about a restaurant (food, checks and $) that can’t even be trusted with a remote control! WOW — I would be so ashamed and embarrassed to be affiliated with management of such an establishment. If I were the Kennedy family, I’d demand the name of the airport be changed. I will pay much closer attention in my travels to absolutely at all costs avoid JFK Terminal 1.
Rosemary Colliver
General Counsel & Head of Business Affairs
LAIKA, LLC
Sent from my iPhone

Coming out of the JetBlue airline terminal, I was amazed by the central hub that housed so many nice restaurants and stores. Unfortunately I only had time for one stop, which was Muji To Go, and I got so excited because I don’t think we have one in Miami. Afterwards, we rushed to the train (yes, we had to ride a train to the next terminal, so you could imagine how big the place is) to make it to Terminal 1…
BIG DIFFERENCE. Terminal 1 was so basic compared to the previous terminal we came from. Overpriced food kiosks and gift shops all around. My mother and I ate at a sit-​in restaurant and I was not fond of the place at all (I can’t remember the name, or am I trying hard to forget it? Heh). Service was slow because there was only one server; I felt bad for him since the table next to us had kids and they kept spilling their drinks on the floor. I ordered their turkey sliders because I wanted something light but did not have an appetite for salad. The menu stated any of the sandwiches/​burgers came with waffle fries AND apple slices. The server said apples were not included. It irked me because why include it in the menu? Or if he meant that they’re out of apples, then why not substitute for something else? Anyways, the turkey sliders came out. For $ 12, I had 3 cold turkey sliders, which was supposed to have spicy avocado butter but it was just smeared avocado that was NOT spicy at all, and the fries were still frozen. I’m trying not to have one restaurant ruin my experience at this one terminal, but wait, there’s more.
I had to go from kiosk to kiosk to compare prices of bottled water, many of which had just the big bottles like Fuji and Smart Water. I didn’t want a big bottle, so I felt kind of forced to buy the big ones — cheapest was $ 6.
It was convenient to have charging stations in each seating area, but of the two charging stations I went to, both had broken outlets. I basically had to camp out and watch someone leave and rush to grab that open working outlet before someone else did.
Bathrooms were not too far, so that’s a plus.
Waiting chairs were pretty dirty though. The cleanest was the handicapped one in which I let my mom sit on.
In the particular flight we were waiting for, it got crowded quick at our gate. People kept bumping into each other with no acknowledgement; only one kid actually apologized when he bumped me, so that also depreciated my experience at this particular terminal.
This particular terminal is quite big in size, but I felt they could’ve added more kioks or restaurants and utilize that space. If I have any words of advice, bring your own wipes or napkins to wipe down the seats, and bring an empty bottle to fill with water from the water fountains or they will rip you off with buying water there. Also, be careful with the charging stations, some outlets may not work, and if they do, watch your phone/​tablet carefully!

Foods are overpriced and very small food court. This terminal does not have TSA traveler program.

There are good airport terminals and there are shitty ones.
This one falls into the latter category.
Granted, not everything is the fault of the actual building or the people inside it. Often times you can blame Mother Nature for the worst of our travel ills. But in this particular case Terminal 1 is still a cesspool of shit and diarrhea mixed together in a cheap plastic bag.
Excluding weather-​related travel issues — this place is still a pain in the ass for a variety of reasons. Among them include .
Departures — it’s a bitch to take off here because of the sheer volume of international flights that come in and out of this place. The security lines can get ridiculously long and the processing time can be very slow. Good luck if you’re standing behind an elderly couple with lots of hidden metal on their bodies.
The shops here are modest but a far cry from better international airports in many other major cities around the world.
Arrivals — I can’t tell you how fucking annoying some of the folks who work here are. Aside from looking disinterested about being gainfully employed, I’ve had multiple encounters with rude ass folks in the immigration area who bark vague orders to people (Americans and non-​Americans alike) about things like how to fuck up using the automated kiosks for processing passports and directing people to random lines without any rhyme or reason. Not everyone here is a total asshole but don’t be surprised when you meet surly employees who do a fantastic job of showing travelers fresh off a plane how Americans can be total douchebags.
The baggage area is hit or miss. My latest experience was fortunately okay and we got our bags within 30 minutes of landing. Other times I’ve had to wait more than an hour. It all depends I guess on how busy it is.
I’ve also had a few cases where my flight was stuck on a tarmac b/​c there were not gates available for arriving flights. Inefficient and annoying.
The pickup area is a hive of human scum and villainy. If you’re picking people up, there’s a dearth of seating which is wonderful when a flight is delayed and you’re standing for more than a hour (at least in Newark there’s a large arrival area with plenty of seats). If you’re walking out, good luck navigating around shady black car drivers looking to rip you off. The curbside area is also a mess of cabs, smokers and cars double/​triple parked to the wazoo so make sure you wear something noticeable if you’re waiting on a black car to get you.
Other than all that crap, Terminal 1 is great … I suppose.

Not a huge fan of this terminal. Very few and overpriced food options and limited seating (unless you wait at your gate).
There are a few spots to charge your phone but I wouldn’t count on them being available.
Clean enough but just boring…

Crap terminal. There were hundreds of people lined up for security. The lounges are no better than the regular waiting areas. Disgrace for the U.S.

This has got to be one of the MOST unorganized, and ill maintained terminals I have seen in the US so far. Disgusting, smelly bathrooms. Rude & inefficient security staff, slow as molasses. Very limited eating options.

This terminal is nice of you have status (great Lufthansa lounge) but a bit rough if you do not.
Transferred from terminal 8 (awful trying to take AirTrain — had to leave airport, and then u-​turn to come back to terminal 1). Security was long, and even in the line where they said you didn’t have to take your shoes off, you still had to take your shoes off! Limited food options and lots of luxury shopping to accommodate the Asian tourists

Driving into and out of JFK was pretty easy. The signs were clearly marked and there is a cell phone lot if you needed to wait for an arrival.
There were signs for Kiss and Fly but I drove up to the curb to do the drop off.
I did hit a toll coming it that was $ 7 and am glad I have an EZ pass.