Fighting on JFK

American airports have a bad reputation. They are considered as inefficient, messy and chaotic. Last week JFK New York tried to vindicate these allegations.

I was on my flight home from NYC to Europe, using Air France to Paris. There were daunting long lines at the Air France desks. I managed to avoid them, because I already had my boarding pass. I needed only to access the internet and a printer before.

After handing off my luggage at the security port I went to a bar nearby, accompanied by my American girlfriend, to celebrate the fast check in.

But then the problem started. A security person refused my access. "The boarding pass is not valid", she declared. Fortunately I got assistance by another security person. The second security person declared my boarding pass as valid.

The first securtiy person didn´t give in. "He has to go the airline desk again" she ordered. I went with the 2. security person to the airline desk, but it was already closed, around one hour before the scheduled liftoff.  We went back to the security area and tried to enter, now from another place. But the 1. sec. pers. was now shouting with the 2. , that I must not enter the area. We tried to enter the area on a third spot. Now I got more assistance. A third security person declared the boarding pass as valid. The 1. sp  kept shouting and the security persons were fighting about my right to enter. But now I had the majority of the sec. pers. and I could ignore the resistance and finally enter.

Later everyone accepted my boarding pass.

Conclusion: When you go via JFK you need strong nerves and a lot of patience. A Zen like enlightenment.