This as-told-to essay is predicated on a dialog with Emily Calandriello, a 37-year-old resident of New York who was touring together with her husband for trip to Liberia, Costa Rica, from the John F. Kennedy International Airport on the morning of March 22. TSA employees have been working with out pay because of the partial government shutdown.
The New Jersey Port Authority and JetBlue didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark. This essay has been edited for size and readability.
We thought we had been doing every little thing proper.
Early on Sunday morning, March 22, my husband and I set out for what was presupposed to be our first huge journey in nearly three years, for our fifth wedding ceremony anniversary. We like to journey, however life has gotten in the method currently, so this trip to Costa Rica felt particularly significant.
We left for the airport at 4 a.m. for our 8:19 a.m. JetBlue flight to Liberia. I had heard TSA lines had been backed up, however associates who had traveled just lately instructed me it was manageable — simply lengthy. We went in ready to attend two to three hours, and truthfully, we had been in good spirits.
We arrived at Terminal 5 round 5 a.m., checked a bag, and went to search out the finish of the line, which was already wrapped round the within the constructing twice. We appeared at one another like, “Ok, I guess we’re just going to hunker down and try to stay calm.” Little did we all know we had been strolling into what felt like a harmful state of affairs.
A protracted wait was whole chaos
At first, issues felt manageable. We began chatting with folks round us, and a small group of us bonded over the shared expertise. Everyone was very pleasant and good, and it helped move the time.
For about two hours, the line moved steadily. Then it stopped.
Right earlier than the safety checkpoint, after about 20 minutes of no motion, folks from our group went forward to see what was occurring. That’s once we realized the drawback: folks had been pushing into the line at the entrance, creating a large bottleneck.
It rapidly turned clear that nobody was in cost. We requested a JetBlue worker who was organizing the line. They stated it was the Port Authority safety’s job. When we requested safety, they stated it was JetBlue’s accountability. No one among any authority appeared to care at all about organizing the state of affairs, and it felt like a complete free-for-all.
As extra folks started slicing the line, tensions rose. People began shouting: “You’re cutting the line. We’ve been waiting for over two hours.”
By that time, we acknowledged everybody who had been ready close to us, and immediately, strangers had been pushing in from all instructions. A bunch of about eight to 10 of us tried to carry our place, telling folks they wanted to go to the again.
Security guards had been close by, however they had been mainly ineffective. They simply instructed us to cease yelling at one another, and they appeared away.
That’s when issues escalated and began to really feel harmful. The crowd compressed into what felt like an offended mob about to stampede. My husband and I had been packed so tightly that we bought separated.
Then a younger lady subsequent to me had a full panic assault. She began crying and screaming, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.” She was pushed out of the crowd, and a safety guard helped her, however her mom was nonetheless caught behind us. I ended up pushing by way of folks to get her mother out so she may attain her.
My coronary heart was simply beating so quick, and it felt very scary, like a riot was about to interrupt out. If I had recognized that this was what we might be placing ourselves by way of, we might have rescheduled the trip.
An evening at the airport
Eventually, we had been funneled into the managed TSA area, however by then, I was in whole survival mode.
I stored checking the time. It was clear we had been going to overlook our flight, however after ready hours and going by way of that chaos, turning again did not really feel like an choice. Behind me, the line has already prolonged to the sidewalks outdoors the constructing.
I made it by way of safety about 20 minutes earlier than my husband, and I sprinted to the gate anyway to see if there was any probability we may nonetheless board. They stated “no, the doors were closed,” so we had been rebooked on the identical flight the subsequent morning. It was the solely choice as a result of Liberia has a small airport, and there’s only one flight a day.
We had a selection to go away and come again to face TSA once more, or keep in the airport for the remainder of the day and then spend the evening. We did not wish to topic ourselves to that harmful state of affairs once more, so we stayed.
We walked round Terminal 5 till we discovered a quiet nook. We pushed 4 chairs collectively and made a makeshift mattress. I purchased a toothbrush, a neck pillow, and a blanket, and stated, “Alright, this is the setup for the night.”
Our our bodies had been sore, our brains felt like mush, and we had been completely exhausted. We napped in brief bursts — generally on chairs, generally on the ground. I wasn’t loopy about it, however you make do when you haven’t any different choices.
The subsequent morning
After spending nearly 24 hours in the airport, it was lastly a brand new day.
We did not have to return by way of safety. We made it onto our flight with none points, we didn’t need to pay greater than the $500 per-person ticket we already paid for, and fortunately, our checked bag made it too.
But the expertise of the earlier day caught with me. I’ve skilled some loopy travel stories in my life, however this can be the worst one.
What frustrates me most is that it felt preventable. The administration outdoors the security area was very poorly performed. Most folks had been making an attempt to do the proper factor. They had been ready patiently and staying calm. But there’s all the time a small share of people that do not care.
Now that I’m lastly in Costa Rica, I’m having fun with the journey. Our bed-and-breakfast hotel is in the rainforest, and it is stunning right here. I’m wanting ahead to wildlife excursions and seashores.
This is such an amazing change of surroundings, contemplating that for our first day of trip, we spent it in JFK.
Correction, March 24, 2026 — This story has been corrected to replicate the appropriate date of the flight; it was March 22, not May 22, and the variety of hours in the TSA line.
