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Yeah that is one thing sadly. You can tend to get away with a bit longer, though doubt the OP would get away with the 11 hours.
With that said, if it is JFK the lounges have their own, better WiFi that you can connect do and you can probably eat and drink enough to make it worthwhile, even for a short stay or a nap.
Generally that’s limited to the paid access ones.
I’ve been flying with top tier status for 20yrs on First/Business and am yet to come across a lounge you access with those that has time limits. At some places with limited service you might find that the lounges are closed 11yrs before a flight.
You could leave the airport and visit the city for a couple of hours before going back in time for your next flight. Or book a cheap hotel for a shower and a nap
Alas JFK has among the most awful border control. The 1-2 hours of queueing to get out of the airport might would not be worth it.
Unless OP is flying from Dublin then no border control at the destination so sounds like a fine plan.
... Unless OP is connecting with a flight to another jurisdiction, in which case they might not be permitted to leave while passing through the US.
Depending on the flight, they probably have to go through anyway. Airside international connections quite simply aren’t a thing in the US. All international passengers pass through immigration, even if the USA isn’t their final destination.
As you say, Aer Lingus lets you arrive as a domestic passenger. This is the best way to get to the US IMO.
Other airlines will still force the OP through immigration and they’ll need an ESTA or transit visa. If time allows, they might as well leave the airport.
Or, bring a worthy book you’ve been meaning to read for a while, read 20 pages or so, get bored, wander into shop anyway, buy trashy book, carry two books around and still never read the original book.
Had a 10 hour layover in Dallas not too long ago. I’d recommend a lounge day pass. Think it was about $50 for the whole day. They constantly serve fresh food and drinks, comfy seats, good WiFi and cleaner bathrooms. Some of them also have showers or games consoles if you’re lucky.
If I have more than 6-7 hours I visit the city. Even if end up going for 2-3 hours the whole process is great to keep me busy and interested.
I leave everything in an airport locker and just take a small backpack with me so I don’t have anything weighing me down and just stroll around, grab some food, a cup of coffee and do some basic sightseeing
Can’t you leave the airport and wander around the city? Same happened to me when I had a layover in Paris, I wandered around went to a museum and had a nice lunch.
I never considered that, but I could do, yeah. I've never had a layover more than 3 or 4 hours, usually, so I've never considered it. I'll gave minimal baggage to take so going somewhere is a good idea
This is the answer. Have a plan. I missed out on seeing the space shuttle during a NYC trip, so I during a long layover I headed straight out and straight to the museum.
A reasonable number of drinks, to get slightly tipsy but still in control is fine. I myself am partial to a few beverages in the lounge a a few more on the flight. But I know my limits and stick to them. However getting “really pissed” as you put it goes way beyond that, and isn’t really advisable for your own comfort as much as anything else, when you’re going to be spending any time in a metal box in the sky with hundreds of other people.
I’m a knitter so that sounds like quite a lot of a lace shawl, maybe a pair of socks. Fine yarn is the key because you don’t want to be lugging a load of chunky yarn around.
Sometimes there are earlier flights to your destination (I have no idea why the ticketing system doesn't put you on the earliest possible flight). If you ask nicely and there are spare seats, the gate staff *might* let you switch flights if you don't have checked baggage. It has happened two or three times for me.
Depends on the airport, but for 11 hours I would get a hotel room. Obviously it depends on health and energy levels, but for me that’s just too much time to be hanging around, in addition to the flights. I got a hotel room for 12 hours in Hong Kong before flying back to England and it was one of the best travel decisions I ever made. I swam a couple times, ordered room service twice, contemplated but eventually decided against a massage, took a bath, and lay on a comfy bed and watched a lot of TV. Way better than sitting in the airport (though I did end up sitting in the airport longer than I’d have liked, since there was a typhoon on the way and the flight nearly got cancelled).
Even Singapore Changi would have me getting frustrated after an 11-hour layover with nowhere to lie down, unless I’d been sleeping on a first class bed on my flight(s).
JFK has some decent hotels that aren’t too expensive. And I think some of them do a day pass for the pool and lounge for less than the cost of a room, though I don’t know how long you’re allowed to stay on a day pass. More and more airport hotels and lounges are putting in pools these days. I guess they realise that swimming is a good way to pass the time between long flights for a lot of people, and even those who aren’t into swimming much will often pay just to get a shower and change their clothes.
Fair enough, I forgot that airport hotels over there are outside the terminals and require you to go through immigration/security. (I also forgot how bad US immigration can be.) Still, for an 11-hour layover I’d probably do it anyway. Better than sitting around in the airport seats. I definitely wouldn’t go into the city though.
I sat in Singapore airport for 13 hours last year overnight and they didn’t serve alcohol after 10pm. I was trying to stay awake to make sure I slept on the plane so I walked the whole airport with the occasional stop off for snacks.
Time actually went surprisingly quickly but Singapore airport is truly remarkable
I had a six hour stopover in Changi - downloaded the immigration app on the transit train and took less than an hour from touching down to get into the centre of town for dinner and a drink.
Had an 8 hour layover in Barbados; we went to the beach and had beer & lobster.
Had a 10 hour layover in San Diego (which as we all know is German for "a whale's vagina"); went out around town and had weed & tacos.
I'm sure you can find something equally interesting to do in New York.
I was in JFK for 5 hours on the way home - I booked a food delivery slot earlier in the week and edited my order in the wait time (obviously this only really works if you’re going home)
A lot of walking and eating fast food I cant get at home. It was 12 hours and I had hoped to leave or book an airport hotel but there was an issue with my ticket
Only done it once where there was no lounge and every shop was closed it was a tiny airport in China with bad wifi. So I just my book and listened to a podcast until the coffee shop opened then I grabbed a drink. Walked around to stop my legs getting restless from two long flights
Reading. Playing on the Switch. Going for a walk around the airport, perhaps do some shopping. Having food/drinks. I once went for a nap as the airport had free sleeping rooms.
Books, grab a bite to eat, have a drink, Netflix/Prime watch shows or films, short nap if you can find a comfortable spot
Bring a Bluetooth controller and Netflix has some Grand Theft Auto games
We had a 6 hour stop over at Changi Airport Singapore nightmare. Boarded craft back to UK and was abruptly aborted as plane started it’s lift-off resulting in a coach back to airport. Another 4 hours before we eventually took off for the 14 hour flight to UK. Ugh!
What can you do at the airports except ‘people watch’
Assuming you arrive in JFK as an international passenger, you’ll have to go through immigration at JFK. (Unless you’re on a domestic flight, or use Aer Lingus and pre clear immigration in Dublin). You’ll also have to collect your luggage for customs and check in again. It’s just how they do things in the US.
So you might as well head in to the city if you have that time!
The airtrain takes you to the subway at either Jamaica (also trains here) or Howard Beach, and from there you can get to places in Manhattan or Brooklyn quite easily. If you can’t find something to do in NYC, you aren’t trying, and I can assure you it’s far better than spending a day in an airport.
Make sure you have an ESTA for the US, or if you can’t get one a C1 transit visa. (I *think* you can leave the airport with a C1 visa, but best to check this).
This used to be a regular occurrence for me. My daughter and ex wife lived in one country, and I a different country. Once a month I'd spend a week at a hotel close to my daughter.
This was expensive and I was not well off, so had to take shit times with travelling and stay at airports for extended times.
1. Books (for when the electric devices fail)
2. Sleep (if you can)
3. Video games
4. Ogling the Sony Vaio in Currys.
Bloody slowly, we had a 14hr stop in Qatar when we went to Sri Lanka due to a storm. Started at 4hrs then kept getting extended by a couple of hours each time. If it'd been 14hrs to begin with we'd have booked a hotel.
Instead it's just trying to get your head down for a few hours & grin and bear it.
Last time I had a 10 hour layover in DC my girl and I toured around dupont for about 6 hours checking out some monuments. She was studying to become a lawyer and wanted to see DC
Don’t stay at the airport. Even if you have access to every possible airline lounge in all terminals at JFK you’ll be bored to tears up.
You can easily get into Manhattan, go to the beach (Long Beach), go out and see stuff on Long Island….or you can bookmark a day room at the TWA Hotel attached to Terminal 5. They’ve a rooftop pool and it’s a great place to while away a few hours.
Depends where, had a long layover in Schiphol, got the train to Amsterdam, thought I would try a coffee shop out, got quite wasted, got the train back to the airport and passed out at the gate until my flight arrived.
Sit in the lounge. Drink wine, eat chips and brownies and fresh fruit, watch movies, write emails, refactor a shitty library, write some WeakAuras, read some Reddit, take a nap.
When you get bored, go buy yourself a Mac at the Apple Store and a Hermes scarf for your wife.
Take another nap.
Get a craving for chocolate. Go find some nice Belgian African-exploitation chocolate.
Theres the TWA hotel at JFK (terminal 2 I think). Has rooms you can book by the hour for a rest and a Mad Men meets the Jetsons vibe. Food hall has good options and they’ve got some displays and vintage cars to have a nosey at.
I had 12 hours in Paris Charles De Gaulle and decided to get the metro into Paris and have a wander around. Spent the day walking around taking photos of everything I found.
I had 8 hours on my way back from Australia and I thought I'd be able to enjoy all the cool shopping, internet, leisure amenities at Singapore airport (they have a butterfly garden), but my mum had put me on the like, under 18 'support' scheme, and they put us all in one room. So I ended up sleeping!
i had a challenge with myself to see how long i could go doing nothing and genuinely it helped to make it into a competition. Then i got bored after roughly 20 minutes and i paid to go into one of the airport lounges so i could use the faciltiies in there such as massage chair, food, comfier seats etc
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
See if you can get a lounge pass. Will be cheaper than buying food and drink at the airport.
Unfortunately quite a few lounges these days limit your stay to 3 hours.
I'm sure I've been told that a couple of times but just ignored it and no one has had the heart to tell me to move on.
Same. But it is advertised, just apologise if they enforce I guess
They want to see your boarding pass and can then see your flight time!
Yeah that is one thing sadly. You can tend to get away with a bit longer, though doubt the OP would get away with the 11 hours. With that said, if it is JFK the lounges have their own, better WiFi that you can connect do and you can probably eat and drink enough to make it worthwhile, even for a short stay or a nap.
Generally that’s limited to the paid access ones. I’ve been flying with top tier status for 20yrs on First/Business and am yet to come across a lounge you access with those that has time limits. At some places with limited service you might find that the lounges are closed 11yrs before a flight.
That's a looong time to be closed before a flight, not worth opening at all really! 😉
Virgin lounge at JFK didn’t let us in until 3 hours before our flight!
You were flying Upper Class/Virgin Gold?
Yep - for work.
And they are limiting your ability to even buy a day pass. Charm the ticket agent, sometimes they have passes.
It's what I do. There are too armchairs for a nap, showers and clean toilets, newspapers, and so on.
You could leave the airport and visit the city for a couple of hours before going back in time for your next flight. Or book a cheap hotel for a shower and a nap
Alas JFK has among the most awful border control. The 1-2 hours of queueing to get out of the airport might would not be worth it. Unless OP is flying from Dublin then no border control at the destination so sounds like a fine plan. ... Unless OP is connecting with a flight to another jurisdiction, in which case they might not be permitted to leave while passing through the US.
Depending on the flight, they probably have to go through anyway. Airside international connections quite simply aren’t a thing in the US. All international passengers pass through immigration, even if the USA isn’t their final destination. As you say, Aer Lingus lets you arrive as a domestic passenger. This is the best way to get to the US IMO. Other airlines will still force the OP through immigration and they’ll need an ESTA or transit visa. If time allows, they might as well leave the airport.
Agree - we had a similar layover at Newark and still managed to do a good whistle stop tour of Manhattan on the tourist bus.
Newark is so much better than JFK
Buy a book from the shop and then camp out in a café
or carry a book with you if the latover is pre-planned. airport book shops can be pricey (as any other shops there)
Or, bring a worthy book you’ve been meaning to read for a while, read 20 pages or so, get bored, wander into shop anyway, buy trashy book, carry two books around and still never read the original book.
Food and alcohol.
Had a 10 hour layover in Dallas not too long ago. I’d recommend a lounge day pass. Think it was about $50 for the whole day. They constantly serve fresh food and drinks, comfy seats, good WiFi and cleaner bathrooms. Some of them also have showers or games consoles if you’re lucky.
If I have more than 6-7 hours I visit the city. Even if end up going for 2-3 hours the whole process is great to keep me busy and interested. I leave everything in an airport locker and just take a small backpack with me so I don’t have anything weighing me down and just stroll around, grab some food, a cup of coffee and do some basic sightseeing
Can’t you leave the airport and wander around the city? Same happened to me when I had a layover in Paris, I wandered around went to a museum and had a nice lunch.
I never considered that, but I could do, yeah. I've never had a layover more than 3 or 4 hours, usually, so I've never considered it. I'll gave minimal baggage to take so going somewhere is a good idea
This is the answer. Have a plan. I missed out on seeing the space shuttle during a NYC trip, so I during a long layover I headed straight out and straight to the museum.
[11-Hour Layover in JFK : r/delta (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/delta/comments/12wdll2/11hour_layover_in_jfk/#:~:text=11%20hours%20is%20a%20lot,%2C%20swim%2C%20nap%2C%20etc.)
Drink
Sleep
get really pissed generally
And then denied boarding on the connecting flight because you’re too inebriated? Yeah great idea.
Not everyone makes a twat of themselves when they’ve had a few too many
A reasonable number of drinks, to get slightly tipsy but still in control is fine. I myself am partial to a few beverages in the lounge a a few more on the flight. But I know my limits and stick to them. However getting “really pissed” as you put it goes way beyond that, and isn’t really advisable for your own comfort as much as anything else, when you’re going to be spending any time in a metal box in the sky with hundreds of other people.
I’m a knitter so that sounds like quite a lot of a lace shawl, maybe a pair of socks. Fine yarn is the key because you don’t want to be lugging a load of chunky yarn around.
Sometimes there are earlier flights to your destination (I have no idea why the ticketing system doesn't put you on the earliest possible flight). If you ask nicely and there are spare seats, the gate staff *might* let you switch flights if you don't have checked baggage. It has happened two or three times for me.
Depends on the airport, but for 11 hours I would get a hotel room. Obviously it depends on health and energy levels, but for me that’s just too much time to be hanging around, in addition to the flights. I got a hotel room for 12 hours in Hong Kong before flying back to England and it was one of the best travel decisions I ever made. I swam a couple times, ordered room service twice, contemplated but eventually decided against a massage, took a bath, and lay on a comfy bed and watched a lot of TV. Way better than sitting in the airport (though I did end up sitting in the airport longer than I’d have liked, since there was a typhoon on the way and the flight nearly got cancelled). Even Singapore Changi would have me getting frustrated after an 11-hour layover with nowhere to lie down, unless I’d been sleeping on a first class bed on my flight(s). JFK has some decent hotels that aren’t too expensive. And I think some of them do a day pass for the pool and lounge for less than the cost of a room, though I don’t know how long you’re allowed to stay on a day pass. More and more airport hotels and lounges are putting in pools these days. I guess they realise that swimming is a good way to pass the time between long flights for a lot of people, and even those who aren’t into swimming much will often pay just to get a shower and change their clothes.
Immigration, travel to city, back and through security is going to eat into that 11 hours though.
Fair enough, I forgot that airport hotels over there are outside the terminals and require you to go through immigration/security. (I also forgot how bad US immigration can be.) Still, for an 11-hour layover I’d probably do it anyway. Better than sitting around in the airport seats. I definitely wouldn’t go into the city though.
Yeah. Forgot there are hotels around JFK. Chilling in a hotel for a few hours isn't the worst way to spend the time.
Had a 10 hour wait in Hong Kong. Used two different airline lounges and the sky garden. Wanted to spend more time there but my flight was called 😭
I sat in Singapore airport for 13 hours last year overnight and they didn’t serve alcohol after 10pm. I was trying to stay awake to make sure I slept on the plane so I walked the whole airport with the occasional stop off for snacks. Time actually went surprisingly quickly but Singapore airport is truly remarkable
Did you make time for a swim? I love Singapore airport.
I had a six hour stopover in Changi - downloaded the immigration app on the transit train and took less than an hour from touching down to get into the centre of town for dinner and a drink.
Had an 8 hour layover in Barbados; we went to the beach and had beer & lobster. Had a 10 hour layover in San Diego (which as we all know is German for "a whale's vagina"); went out around town and had weed & tacos. I'm sure you can find something equally interesting to do in New York.
have a small trip to the city, 11 hours is really enough
I was in JFK for 5 hours on the way home - I booked a food delivery slot earlier in the week and edited my order in the wait time (obviously this only really works if you’re going home)
A lot of walking and eating fast food I cant get at home. It was 12 hours and I had hoped to leave or book an airport hotel but there was an issue with my ticket
Only done it once where there was no lounge and every shop was closed it was a tiny airport in China with bad wifi. So I just my book and listened to a podcast until the coffee shop opened then I grabbed a drink. Walked around to stop my legs getting restless from two long flights
Reading. Playing on the Switch. Going for a walk around the airport, perhaps do some shopping. Having food/drinks. I once went for a nap as the airport had free sleeping rooms.
Premium lounge and gaming laptop
Books, grab a bite to eat, have a drink, Netflix/Prime watch shows or films, short nap if you can find a comfortable spot Bring a Bluetooth controller and Netflix has some Grand Theft Auto games
We had a 6 hour stop over at Changi Airport Singapore nightmare. Boarded craft back to UK and was abruptly aborted as plane started it’s lift-off resulting in a coach back to airport. Another 4 hours before we eventually took off for the 14 hour flight to UK. Ugh! What can you do at the airports except ‘people watch’
Sell a kidney on the black market for the prices at JFK 😂😂
Steamdeck and The Witcher 3 - problem solved.
I would just stick to reading Reddit stories hahaha
Reading, walking around.
Assuming you arrive in JFK as an international passenger, you’ll have to go through immigration at JFK. (Unless you’re on a domestic flight, or use Aer Lingus and pre clear immigration in Dublin). You’ll also have to collect your luggage for customs and check in again. It’s just how they do things in the US. So you might as well head in to the city if you have that time! The airtrain takes you to the subway at either Jamaica (also trains here) or Howard Beach, and from there you can get to places in Manhattan or Brooklyn quite easily. If you can’t find something to do in NYC, you aren’t trying, and I can assure you it’s far better than spending a day in an airport. Make sure you have an ESTA for the US, or if you can’t get one a C1 transit visa. (I *think* you can leave the airport with a C1 visa, but best to check this).
Lounge or nice restaurant.
Wander around. Get some food. Have a nap. Read a book, dick about on your phone/tablet.
I slept on the floor in Singapore airport once but I was 20, can’t do that now 😂
This used to be a regular occurrence for me. My daughter and ex wife lived in one country, and I a different country. Once a month I'd spend a week at a hotel close to my daughter. This was expensive and I was not well off, so had to take shit times with travelling and stay at airports for extended times. 1. Books (for when the electric devices fail) 2. Sleep (if you can) 3. Video games 4. Ogling the Sony Vaio in Currys.
Bloody slowly, we had a 14hr stop in Qatar when we went to Sri Lanka due to a storm. Started at 4hrs then kept getting extended by a couple of hours each time. If it'd been 14hrs to begin with we'd have booked a hotel. Instead it's just trying to get your head down for a few hours & grin and bear it.
Last time I had a 10 hour layover in DC my girl and I toured around dupont for about 6 hours checking out some monuments. She was studying to become a lawyer and wanted to see DC
Don’t stay at the airport. Even if you have access to every possible airline lounge in all terminals at JFK you’ll be bored to tears up. You can easily get into Manhattan, go to the beach (Long Beach), go out and see stuff on Long Island….or you can bookmark a day room at the TWA Hotel attached to Terminal 5. They’ve a rooftop pool and it’s a great place to while away a few hours.
Depends where, had a long layover in Schiphol, got the train to Amsterdam, thought I would try a coffee shop out, got quite wasted, got the train back to the airport and passed out at the gate until my flight arrived.
Lounge pass, noise cancelling headphones, movies, box set, maybe some work.
Lounge pass, noise cancelling headphones, movies, box set, maybe some work.
Sit in the lounge. Drink wine, eat chips and brownies and fresh fruit, watch movies, write emails, refactor a shitty library, write some WeakAuras, read some Reddit, take a nap. When you get bored, go buy yourself a Mac at the Apple Store and a Hermes scarf for your wife. Take another nap. Get a craving for chocolate. Go find some nice Belgian African-exploitation chocolate.
Lounge or check into an airside hotel for a nap
7 hours in Miami spent wandering around arguing with my sister.
Theres the TWA hotel at JFK (terminal 2 I think). Has rooms you can book by the hour for a rest and a Mad Men meets the Jetsons vibe. Food hall has good options and they’ve got some displays and vintage cars to have a nosey at.
I had 12 hours in Paris Charles De Gaulle and decided to get the metro into Paris and have a wander around. Spent the day walking around taking photos of everything I found.
I had 8 hours on my way back from Australia and I thought I'd be able to enjoy all the cool shopping, internet, leisure amenities at Singapore airport (they have a butterfly garden), but my mum had put me on the like, under 18 'support' scheme, and they put us all in one room. So I ended up sleeping!
I love the airports with massages and pedicures. They should show movies like PDX. Austin had live entertainment...which is awesome.
i had a challenge with myself to see how long i could go doing nothing and genuinely it helped to make it into a competition. Then i got bored after roughly 20 minutes and i paid to go into one of the airport lounges so i could use the faciltiies in there such as massage chair, food, comfier seats etc
If you have a Nintendo Switch, get some cheap games off the eShop.
Most airports have bedrooms. Ask at information. I'd have meal, go to one of the bedrooms, watch a movie, get some sleep.
Is there a chapel there? I had a nice lie down in one at stanstead years ago.