Terminal One

JFK Terminal 1. The word «grimy» comes to mind. Looks like it was built in the mid 70’s.
Glaciers formed and retreated and became the Great Lakes faster than service here.
If you come from domestic to terminal 1, you have the glorious privilege of going through Security again.

This terminal like a lot of them, seem to have been built in a hurry and with a series of bad architects. Building airports is a complicated task I’m sure, but whoever agreed on the project was either drunk or was paid a lot to close his eyes and signed by a cross. The place is horrible. It feels like you’re in a prison and has no flow. Everything feels like it’s the end.

Terminal 3 is closed, some of airlines that use to be in terminal 3 are now diverted to terminal 1. It gets pretty crazy here. People who are there to pickup arriving passengers never seem to listen to the security and stand behind he guarded rails. There’s always an argument between the people and security over here and I can’t blame the security at all. They’re just following orders and doing their job. By the time you’ve reached outside, it becomes very crowded and hard to walk. A lot of people are either waiting for cabs or friends and family to pick them up with their own vehicle. Even out here, it can get a little crazy. People are smoking, impatient and they often butt heads over something that is very minor.

Good airport … Experience was fine. a very fair airport.
But really busy… Like this is the only airport in whole world but still great experience

Clearly no one (or at least no one who knows what they’re doing) has looked at the passenger flow and signage since the 90’s. What a travesty. NYC should be embarrassed. I will make every effort I avoid JFK connections in the future. I can’t imagine how bad it can get when it is crowded. Glad we ate in Terminal 4. Note that there is absolutely no signage for how to get to Terminal 1. You end up going outside and having to pass through security again (where only a few TSA agents knew anything about Pre-​Check protocol). Even the walk between terminals was uncovered and filthy. Shame on you NYC.

I have been in one worse terminal — and that was a small regional airport in the Amazon without air conditioning. The TSA staff gives zero f%#ks. Be prepared to spend over an hour on the security line — and try not to be disturbed by the giant «911-​Never Forget» banner hanging over the scanners… because that’s exactly what you want to be reminded of before you hop on an international flight. It’s an embarrassment that this is the parting memory we leave foreign travelers.

C’mon Terminal 1. You can seriously do better than that. I agree that this really lowers the standards for what a international terminal should offer and look like. The space itself is quite small. I didn’t have a problem with signage, so that was (the only) plus. I basically breezed through security and towards my gate.
Like most intl flights, they suggest you arrive 3 hours prior to departure which means… Tons of downtime. I thought hey why not explore a bit and see what’s around? Well folks, not much to see. Aside from several overpriced brand name stores, there were a couple of eateries but nothing special. I expect overpriced airport food to be meh at best and Terminal 1 is just that.
We decided to see at what looked to be a promising bar/​grill. The name escapes me. Olympic something? The waitress seemed to be the only one working and she came over for the first time — 15 min later. Our new French friend told us to order ASAP because she’ll never come back. When we tried to order they were out of like ²⁄₃ the menu. Food AND drinks! So we ordered the only beer left on tap. Stella saved the day.
As for the gates. No outlets aside from this random charging station in the middle of nowhere. And when they called for boarding our flight, the lady spoke so softly we barely heard her. Good thing we didn’t miss our flight! Goal: to get on T5’s level. That is all.

Too much work in progress… crowded. lack signage.

This is an international terminal!!! What.
Pros
–it has one decent place to get food (it’s a Turkish grabngo place… err I think it’s Turkish?)
Cons
–this terminal probably has a total of like 4 – 6 places to get food… and all of them (other than the one mentioned above) are typical airport food… sandwiches/​burgers
–I like to walk around before my long flight. This terminal is so small I probably walked back and forth 25 times during my 2 hour wait (and I was walking super slowly…)
–they have very limited shopping options (only has luxury brands and one duty free shop)
This terminal is probably the worst international terminal that I’ve been to…

Pretty substandard for an international terminal. The food offerings are limited, lots of prepackaged stuff and maybe 2 sit down joints. The bathrooms are fairly small and as a result, dirty. Wifi is free for about an hour then you have to pay for boingo. Finding an outlet, pretty much impossible. The floors are marble so you can’t even catch a quick nap!

I’m not a fan of Terminal One. There are barely any food options available here during the early mornings. Granted, I didn’t check out the upstairs options, but they seemed so far away to my sleep deprived self. And once you go past security, these dining options are poor. For a terminal that is the departure and arrival point for many international tourists, why don’t we have notable NYC food? Showcase your city and stop depressing me!

Not bad compared with other terminals, the service was quick at the counter. Lots of international airlines lined up in this terminal, which probably helps their attitude in-​general. Plenty of travelers and speed through security isn’t bad later in the evening.
Parking in a partially covered lot outside (some layered, some outside of that), and access to the Airtrain.