JFK Airport Terminal 3

Flew Delta to Santiago for the first time.
Had an empty lighter lifted from my checked in luggage

For the past 2 years of arriving in this terminal, I thought this was a small, cheap lame excuse of baggage claim where people overcrowd the carousel but today it became nicer, bigger, new spot to pick up my luggage at the baggage claim :)

For an airport as busy as JFK, I’m just amazed how poor it is in regards to amenities for travelers.
Food Options/​Quality = Very limited and… well okay-​ish. But would it kill them to get one of the million Ray’s pizzas out there vs Sbarro?
Bathrooms = Disgusting. Really, Really disgusting. I squeezed like a ¼ cup of purell and used double covers on the seat just to feel like I wouldn’t contract some disease from it.
TSA = Fast and friendly enough.
Overall appearance = Interior looks like the subways in NYC. Again this is one of the busiest airports in the World and it’s probably one of the least maintained.
Baggage Claim — Complete Mess trying to navigate through
Ground Transportation — Another complete mess trying to navigate through.
This airport sucks. The End.

If you didn’t hate Delta before, [you must not have had any encounters with them, and] you will. Because this is the worst of all possible airport terminal worlds.
Most recently, I found myself funneled into one interminable security line full of panicked people afraid they would miss their flight because the line simply did not move. Upon asking a woman who «worked» there if there were other checkpoints, she replied, «Yes, but I don’t recommend you move. They are all very backed up [because they are run equally poorly].»
On the bright side, the long wait doesn’t matter as much because your flight WILL be delayed. There is no question. But despite that delay, you will be hard-​pressed to get any sort of admission of said delay from the gate attendants.
«How late is the flight going to be?»
«It’s not late.»
«You haven’t started boarding the flight 10 minutes after you were supposed to take off, and you’re not running late?»
«Not really.»
Furthermore, why are three different flights boarding through the same gate at the exact same time? Ah, because it’s not a real gate, it’s just a rickety tunnel that leads to the tarmac where you go find your own plane. Good luck.
When your flight isn’t even listed on the board above your gate, it’s a bad sign.
When it looks like folks are living in the terminal, it’s a bad sign.
When you have to get off the AirTrain at Terminal 3, it’s a bad sign.

Should be knocked down and rebuilt. Everything is old and outdated. The terminal does not give a good impression to passengers arriving to NYC or the USA for the first time. I’m embarrased for the port authority. Excited for the news delta terminal to open later this year

I hope to NEVER fly Delta via Terminal 3. Make absolutely sure that you arrive 3 hours prior to departure. This terminal is in a sad state. It’s dingy, dark, unorganized, and leanly staffed. It took the check-​in person a minimum of 15 minutes to check people in. We were on line for an hour. By the time we got to the front, we were told it was too late to check our bags and make the flight. I gave agent an evil glare and told her we are getting on that flight.
They eventually checked us in and I was running for my flight while holding a 30 pound toddler. I made it on the flight minutes before they closed the gate.
I hate this terminal.

35%
Pretty average and aging airport terminal with some minor perks.
I’ve been flying back and forth through this terminal as I’ve traveled often between LAX (Los Angeles, CA) and JFK via Delta Airlines. As far as terminals go, it far from the best and doesn’t hold a candle to terminal 5 (jetblue airlines), but to be fair its far from the worse.
I normally don’t care to write about stuff like this, but since it’s been a few months since I haven’t visited, oddly enough I kinda miss the place. It has some odd charms and to be fair, it serves it purpose just fine for the most part.
*What I like about this place;
— I like the interior design. Yes, the design is pretty dated, but thats also the reason I find it charming. There’s really no other airport terminal I’ve visited in the world that resembles this. Other terminals seem to have their own look. This is probably testament to the whole JFK airport as whole that offers a different personality in each terminal.
— The food is about average, but at least there’s a little more variety than your typical chain & fast food offerings.
I’ve never been a fan of Todd English’s cooking, and Im not surprised to say his restaurant here is no better.
The Croque Monsieur restaurant has some decent, if not impressive crepes. I find myself coming here often for a quick bite & coffee after arriving from red-​eye flights.
PIC of Croque Monsieur dining area;
Denny’s is just Denny’s, but I think the quality is certainly preferable to most fast food options.
You also have Starbucks and some generic chain deli place that I forget about (probably for the best).
–You do get more electrical outlets and seats than the average terminal. I’ve found myself being able to get some work done on more than a few occasions.
–flight delays coming in or going out don’t seem considerable.
*What I don’t care about;
— The security gates can be unpredictable and time consuming. I’ve found myself getting stuck for close to an hour to get through, although this is not notably worse than any of the other terminals in JFK I’ve experienced.
— When busy, some of the extensive seating does get in the way and the space doesn’t seem efficiently designed to hold the number of people in a manner that it’s easy to navigate through.
— Unlike some other terminals, you have to pay for Wifi. The download/​upload speeds that I’ve gotten wasn’t too strong on my laptop. I surf the net faster on my 3G smartphone.
— Although you do get more dining options here, the food just isn’t any better than average.
— On more than a few occasions, some alarm goes off and it takes the personnel a good deal of time to deactivate. Thankfully, you can always escape off to Terminal 2 without going in & out through security.
Overall this is an okay place. I really can’t complain as far as older airport terminals go. On the other hand, it really also shows that Delta hasn’t been on top of things when JetBlue can do a much better job on the relatively larger Terminal 5. Things could be better.

Are you kidding me? I guess Delta will be moving all their operations out of this Terminal in the near future but wow, for New York standards… this is completely terrible. The food options are awful, overpriced, and the terminal itself is very cramped. Who would ever want to have to come here for more than an hour? Avoid Delta at all costs.

This is the strangest, most awkwardly designed terminal I’ve ever been to… Both for departure and arriving. Very confusing and crowded, although the inside of the terminal has some good places to eat.
I try to avoid Terminal 3 and JFK in general if I can.

Hey Vineet,
I completely agree with your review. We agree to agree!
Delta mainly occupies the older Terminals 2 and 3 and some part of Terminal 4. Terminals 2 and 3 are connected by an inside corridor, which is very convenient especially during cold or rainy weather as was today’s case. Terminal 3 has three Delta Sky clubs, but, Terminal 2 only has one Delta Sky club. Terminal 4 does not have a Delta Sky Club. Needless to say as a Delta frequent flyer and a Delta Sky Club member such clubs are important to my travels. I need to relax.
Today I existed the Air Train Station for Terminal 2, because my Delta flight to DCA Reagan was located in Terminal 2 as is usually the case.
When I checked in at Terminal 2 I found my flight to DCA was delayed so I arranged an earlier flight flight to IAD, while still maintaining my seat on my original flight to DCA.
The TSA at Terminal 2 especially the frequent flyer priority line tends to be faster compared to Terminal 3 as was the case today.
After TSA I immediately made my way to the upper level to the Delta Sky Club, which is adjacent to my Delta gate #25. You can take either the elevator or the stair case. My review of the Terminal 2 Delta Sky Club will follow.
When I was at the Delta Terminal 2 lounge I found my earlier flight was cancelled and my orginal delayed flight was moved to Terminal 3 so off to Terminal 3 via the connector and to the Terminal 3 club nearest to Gate 10.
Terminal 3 is a better place than Terminal 2 with more places to visit, but, this terminal is just as old and confusing as Terminal 2.
The good news is that Delta will open a brand new Terminal 4 starting in May 2013, which I greatly look forward to.

on the Friday morning after Thanksgiving, there was only one line for security. Lucky me I got stuck behind this couple who took their sweet old time and made the line go from me and two others to about twenty people.
Did security bother to open up an extra line with all their personnel standing around? Of course not. I have to say I appreciate the intentions of the TSA but the execution has been poor and questionable. Why do you employ all these people if they’re not going to do any work?
As for the Terminal itself, there is a lot to eat and do. I appreciate the many iPads at the tables to keep passengers entertained. I like the open airy feel in some areas of the terminal and the ability to walk to Terminal 2 to kill some time.

Not bad…
Delta isn’t my preferred airline (I preferred Continental before the merger with United) but I fly it when the flights are cheap enough ($ 575 to DUB and $ 550 to IST). The terminal is okay. The food court-​ish area (with Starbucks) has ample seating room. And most recently, our gate was right next to it so my travel consort and I hung out there instead of sitting in the uncomfortable seats awkwardly arranged around our waiting area.
As far as security — our flight was at 5pm so we checked in around 2:30 and it was quick and painless. It felt like the agents were getting towards the end of their shifts because they all seemed tired and bored.

it’s the old PanAm terminal, people. So suck it up and be reverent when you’re walking on the sacred concrete of commercial aviation childhood and modern architectural history.
Ok, it is a step below twa’s, i’ll give you that, and the building is falling apart. And security sucks…
But you can drink a coke, pee and get on the plane. That is all that’s left from the glamour of flying…

Huge line for security that literally has nowhere to go. It just crams into the lines for people trying to check in. It’s a bad airport in general, but considering it’s in a world class city like New York, I really expect more.
Probably the worst airport I’ve been in recent memory. They had hoses coming off the ceiling because the roof leaks so badly!

OMG i have seen worst ones but none on a major city like nyc.
A new terminal is in the works and hopefully will be up to par.
This terminal is odd, tons of stairs, odd shape to walk around, not one flat tarmat (stairs) to take you from one end to the next. Food is ok, water filters from the rooms everywhere. etc

Probably the worst terminal to catch a flight from at jfk. It seems so disorganised and very weirdly designed.
There are some really confusing signs all over and the narrow lanes sidewalk make it worse. Try to avoid this terminal if possible.

it’s an old and kinda depressing looking terminal, but the people working the desks for Delta are pretty quick. I can’t fault them for doing their job efficiently. especially with tons of Europeans clogging up the lines — seriously, the airports in Europe are so futuristic, I guess our old-​school airports confound the Euros when they visit here.
and I can’t complain that a security guard let me and a group of Hasidic Jews go to another security gate where we breezed past in 3 minutes. I’m not sure how I got lumped in with them, but it makes for a funny story.

Worst. Hate. Suck. Kill. Despise.
I don’t care if they’re building a brand-​spanking new terminal. In the interim they absolutely must do something about the security situation. It should not take 1 hour+ to get through security.
My flight was boarding when I got to the gate. It’s JFK, I always give myself plenty of time… this was Madness. Madness.

Terminal 3 is unquestionably the worst terminal and Delta has no understanding of how to manage a line. I got to my last flight nearly an hour and a half early and nearly missed it because people managing the line had absolutely no idea what they were doing.
The food court here is also by far the worst – sorry Perry’s!

The oldest and most decrepit Terminal at JFK, this was originally built in 1960 as the hub of Pan Am and for a time was the largest airline terminal in the world. Those days are long gone, all that is left is the distinctive flying saucer roof.
In the early 90’s Delta bought the building and use Terminal 3 for their International Arrivals. Today, the place is dark, dank and dirty. It is by far the worst terminal at the airport. The terminal does offer a Dunkin’ Donuts hidden downstairs by international arrivals.
The building is actually scheduled for demolition in 2013, when Delta will move it’s international operations to Terminal 4. Attempts were made to preserve the saucer roof, but it too is now destined for the wrecking ball.
UPDATE: Apparently it’s not just me; from ABC NEWS:
«New York JFK’s terminal 3, now used for Delta flights, was ranked as the worst in the world… Terminal 3 is known for endless immigration lines in a dank basement, an utter lack of food and shopping options, three crowded and confusing entry points, and hallways that could have been designed by M. C Escher for vomiting international travelers out onto an underground sidewalk with no cabs available,»
said. «There’s also a sense that the cleaning crew gave up in despair a while ago.»
OUCH!