Which JFK Terminals Are Closed to the Public ?

In June 2004, I was surprised that I was denied admittance to Terminal 7 at JFK because I had no boarding pass. Are there any other terminals where the public is not allowed? From T7,you got a great view of the Concorde, the Qantas B744 and arrivals on 31R/13L from the windows. They had great restaurants and gift shops, too. These businesses have certainly lost customers if non-passengers are prohibited. Also, I was unable to meet my friend for lunch. In the past, non-passengers were admitted after being searched. Likewise, at LGA, I couldn't enter the US Air Terminal without a ticket. What gives?

you can enter the building, but you can't get past security checkpoints without a boarding pass or airport id. that's just there to limit the amount of people that have access the sterile area. even when parents are escorting in a UM that is flying out they need to get a pass from the ticket counter.

Its been like that for a long time.


I wonder how crowded airports would be if they still let anyone to the gate areas.