Newark Airport Customs Control Terminal B Fiasco

spol said:

Does anyone use Mobile Passport?  At the risk of sharing my secret, I've found it quicker than even Global Entry in terms of getting through passport control...maybe because no one knows about it!  Even better, I don't have to remember to put a pen in my bag to fill out the landing form at EWR...last time I flew home from London, I was off the plane and into the Uber in 15 minutes.

 used Mobile Passport in September at Newark.  It was a breeze to go through passport control.  Felt sorry for everyone stuck in the regular line.


Klinker said:

conandrob240 said:

I actually gave two comparison airports right in my post. I could list MANY others. I travel a lot and my opinion is that Newark is a pretty good airport compared to many, many airports both here in the US and abroad. I’m quite sure it’s definitely better than Kabul although that hasn’t been (nor will be) on my list of travel destinations so I’m just guessing. 

 I don't fly through Atlanta ( I am boycotting pretty much everything below the Mason Dixon line except Texas) or Chicago but I visit San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Houston (Bush), Dallas Fort Worth and Toronto at least once or twice a year and I have to say that, compared to any of those airports, EWR is a stinking cesspool.  And that is Terminal C.  Terminals A and B ought to be enough to humiliate the citizens of any first world or developing country.

 You seem fun.


ml1 said:

spol said:

Does anyone use Mobile Passport?  At the risk of sharing my secret, I've found it quicker than even Global Entry in terms of getting through passport control...maybe because no one knows about it!  Even better, I don't have to remember to put a pen in my bag to fill out the landing form at EWR...last time I flew home from London, I was off the plane and into the Uber in 15 minutes.

 used Mobile Passport in September at Newark.  It was a breeze to go through passport control.  Felt sorry for everyone stuck in the regular line.

Global entry here but this has always been my experience at EWR. Almost always a breeze.

Plus it’s bright, open with high ceilings, logical (and not too massive) sections/rows of gates. Nice seating with tables and counters to plug into. Generally, short, well-organized lines for security (especially TSA pre-check). Good dining and shopping options although I don’t love the removal of some of the lower-end chains in favor of the weird, over priced market-style options they’ve added last few years.


spol said:

Does anyone use Mobile Passport?  At the risk of sharing my secret, I've found it quicker than even Global Entry in terms of getting through passport control...maybe because no one knows about it!  Even better, I don't have to remember to put a pen in my bag to fill out the landing form at EWR...last time I flew home from London, I was off the plane and into the Uber in 15 minutes.

Yes.  Just used it again on Saturday.  Was a bit annoyed that it has changed to a subscription model unless you want to enter your passport information every time.  Breezed through customs at JFK, though.  N.B.  I did not subscribe - I'll just suck it up and enter the information within four hours of arrival.


conandrob240 said:

Good dining and shopping options although I don’t love the removal of some of the lower-end chains in favor of the weird, over priced market-style options they’ve added last few years.

 Yes!  I want the McDonalds, etc. back (in fact I always wanted one in each terminal) and get rid of about half of all that fancy stuff!  No, I'm not a huge McDonald's fan in general but I was always glad to be able to get a breakfast sandwich or fries or a drink there and there's no place that I've found to get those things anywhere at EWR now.  


Re Newark vs other airports - I think that the large airports in general are not as pleasant as the mid-sized ones.  I like Newark better than JFK for sure, but I like DFW and IAH better than EWR.  I haven't spent time in that many other large US airports very recently so can't speak to them, but I have definitely preferred Austin, St Louis, Oklahoma City, and El Paso - all mid-sized airports that are big enough to have a lot of flights, good food services and comfortable waiting areas.  

One thing that is definitely superior at many airports vs EWR is the restrooms.  I don't know why they can't make/keep EWR restrooms cleaner, nicer, etc. like most other airports I've been in. There always seem to be broken fixtures, "out of order" stalls, trash on the floor, etc.  Not so in most other airports I've flown to in the last few years.


sac said:

Re Newark vs other airports - I think that the large airports in general are not as pleasant as the mid-sized ones.  I like Newark better than JFK for sure, but I like DFW and IAH better than EWR.  I haven't spent time in that many other large US airports very recently so can't speak to them, but I have definitely preferred Austin, St Louis, Oklahoma City, and El Paso - all mid-sized airports that are big enough to have a lot of flights, good food services and comfortable waiting areas.  

One thing that is definitely superior at many airports vs EWR is the restrooms.  I don't know why they can't make/keep EWR restrooms cleaner, nicer, etc. like most other airports I've been in. There always seem to be broken fixtures, "out of order" stalls, trash on the floor, etc.  Not so in most other airports I've flown to in the last few years.

 They finally have them but they must have been the last airport in the US to get bottle fill stations.  Now, if they could only get them to work!  I suspect the vendors may be sabotaging them. Either that or the maintenance folks are on the take.  


I was really impressed with Terminal B arrivals - Simone called while still in plane at 1:06 and she was through passport control with checked baggage outside at 1:30!

I think she has the priority tag for her luggage - but that was really impressive.  I have to say - it's weird to note the difference in amenities between the different terminals.  I forget if it was B or A but what a stark difference it was compared to C.


conandrob240 said:

Newark is a good airport (comparatively speaking). At the very least, it’s a FAR better option than JFK or LGA. It’s clean, bright, new(ish). Terminal design makes sense. Security is usually excellent and it’s very quick. Flights take a bit longer to taxi and line up for takeoff so delays are there but usually 15 minutes or so nothing major. I don’t get the knocking of EWR. 

I’ve had the extreme displeasure of being in a few other cities last month- Chicago and ATL. Both of those airports were really old, really poorly designed and I’ve never experienced such long, disorganized security lines as I did in ATL. Just awful.

Agree. Newark Airport gets a much worse rap than it deserves.  There are several other major airports which are far worse to get in and out of such as Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, JFK, etc.


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