The new Terminal A in Newark marks a transformation of one of the ugliest, dilapidated, and dysfunctional terminals in the United States to one of the most modern.
Photo Essay – The New And Improved Terminal A @ Newark Liberty International Airport
While checking out the new United Club in Terminal A I took some time to walk through the new normal. Wow, what a marked improvement from the circular satellite terminals of the old Terminal A which were often extremely crowded and felt like being in a dungeon.
The high ceilings, windows, and immense space make it one of the nicest new terminals in the USA (and also reminded me a bit of the new New York LGA airport).
As I recall, the old terminal had a Hudson News, Auntie Annes Pretzels, Dunkin Donuts, and an Au Bon Pain. The new terminal has a number of new restaurants and cafés, including many cuisine choices, bagels and other baked goods, and coffee. The terminal is not run by OTG.
My visit was just before the David Brooks incident at Smokehouse BBQ or I would have stopped there for the special named after him.
> Read More: David Brooks’ Whopper About His Newark Airport Hamburger
There is one downside, although it is a temporary one. The Air Train does not reach Terminal A so if you want to connect to/from other terminals, you need to take a bus. Both an airside (secure side) and landside bus are available that link terminals. This terminal will be much more convenient once the Air Train reaches it.
Here are some pictures from my visit:
The problem is transiting terminals as you mentioned. Creates a whole slew of issues during bad operations.
I’m hoping there will be a better long-term solution once construction is done (and B must be redone too).
Agreed. Thanks for the articles.
Nice report for a terminal that I have not seen in person yet. The terminal looks pleasant but not an architectural landmark, like Dulles or CDG 1.
I wonder if there’s a lot of walking, which is of no concern to me now but could be in decades if I am frail. I wonder if high ceilings look nice but are energy inefficient. How about the low ceilings of the old LGA and Penn Station in NYC? That’s less airspace to heat or cool.
Big improvement over old A but functionally the main gate corridor feels like the bones of Terminal C but with newer seats. Both have airy ceilings and a long pier.
Taking an elevator to the club was disappointing vs an escalator in a new build.
Much better (day and night) over the old Terminal A, but Newark is a mess. It can’t function well on a sunny, windless day. Terrible airport. Delay prone.
There is quite a bit of walking. The Airtrain is a good 8-10min brisk walk from the terminal and often you can beat the shuttle bus handily.
But to echo the above post, no matter how pretty the terminal is, EWR ops is terrible and too delay prone.
I would argue that while terminal is a massive improvement over the previous mess, it is very sterile and boring. The lounge design is a massive failure as all one hears is boarding announcements or fire alarms constantly due to them all being open to the concourse below. Such a missed opportunity in my opinion.
Looks nice enough. What are the practical implications? Is terminal A international, domestic, purely United? Who will be using this?
AirTrain does connect to A – the A parking garage that is. Very brisk 15 min walk. It is far. There won’t be any proper AirTrain rebuild for years.
Connection between A and C is fine. A seems to be midcons and TCons. No intl since Polaris is in C. Not sure any RJs go there either.
The terminal is fine. It’s new and thank got no OTG. But they botched the Club entrances with no escalators. A truly dumb decision. And it’s s long walkway with no moving walkways. And the gate numbering is the dumbest small thing I can think of. Have a laugh at it.
As I park in P4 I hate departing or arriving A.
It’s essentially a domestic terminal serving United, American, Delta and Air Canada. Only international flights are to Canada on AC (Canada has US customs preclearance so flights from there can land at domestic-only US terminals). Lounge options are United, American, Delta and a pending AMEX Centurion. Air Canada has a customer service agent and applies standard Maple Leaf Lounge policies to the United Club as part of a special arrangement.
The problem is still Newark. What a dump!!
No, it’s actually Elizabeth. Terminal C is Newark
Correction: You absolutely can walk from the Airtrain in about 10 minutes using covered passageways. It’s a bit of a hike with heavy luggage, but otherwise quite doable and both faster and more comfortable than the bus.
That is good to know.
I agree, the new EWR terminal A is gorgeous compared to the old terminal A.
But the old rundown terminal A had one good thing going for it – it was super quick to get in and out.
The new terminal A is huge, and it’s quite a hike to get from taxi dropoff to your gate. The old terminal A was quick and a very short walk to your gate!
In addition, the current lounge offerings in the new terminal A are abysmal.
Yes, it looks good. Departure with TSA etc. is pretty smooth. Apparently they have the new machines. I’ve done approx. 12 dep. & arrivals at Terminal A since they opened approx. 11 months ago: (a) restrooms (men’s) are a joke. waterless urinals are a mess. the (designer?) sinks don’t drain properly. looking good but impractial (b) beautiful (fake?) terrazo flooring like in Term. C throughout. except the gate areas are carpeted and are already looking bad after spilled drinks and food. wow. (c) The arrival lanes outside are another ill-designed failure. 2 lanes only. Arriving on a Tues. afternoon around 2.30pm and a traffic jam of ubers and priv. cars trying to pick up passengers. Who comes up with these impractical ideas, then get signed of by the Port Authority and/or government ppl in Trenton (state capital of NJ)??
Hudson nonstop just walk out is crazyyy. They just added that to my college market too.
Glad Delta uses A!
Hating terminal A… Been there about a dozen times so far and I’ll change flights earlier or later to get a flight leaving from C instead, if I can.
Added 30-40 minutes to get into the city by train.
Plus what’s been mentioned about the club, no escalators and listening to all the gate announcements.
You’d think someone with zero airport experience designed and built this.
And when exiting the secure section to go to baggage claim, wtf?
If the plan was not to pay someone to monitor that contraption, is why they need people at both ends.
I haven’t met one user of terminal A that likes it.
Instead of “transformation”, isn’t it actually destruction (of old terminal) and construction of an entirely new terminal (in a different location)?
I love the new Terminal A, and I hate it for all the reasons mentioned: very long walking distances ( I’m thinking moving sidewalks are illegal in NJ…), AirTrain station waaaaaaay to far away, sterile design, and those horrible robotic security exit gates (to reduce labor costs of course). Need to get to a hotel? You have to cross half of NJ to get to P4 hotel pickup area. Ridiculous! Too bad United is too big for one terminal. I’m avoiding Terminal A as much as possible.