Delays at area airports may be inevitable — but, at least now, you’ll get free Wi-Fi while you wait.
On Wednesday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced it will provide passengers with free, unlimited access to high-speed Wi-Fi at Newark Liberty International Airport, as well as JFK, LaGuardia and Stewart (Orange County, New York) airports.
The Port Authority said new high-speed Wi-Fi service offers faster speeds — a minimum of 20 megabits per second and up to 50 Mbps — and now available with easy two-click access. Passengers will have unlimited four-hour sessions of access.
Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said high-speed internet access as been at the top of the list of suggestions from customers.
“The Port Authority has a goal to develop world-class airports and operate them at the highest level of service and quality,” O’Toole said. “With trending passenger growth across our airports, connecting to a free Wi-Fi network is not just an enhancement in customer service, but also an improvement in efficiency for our business and leisure travelers.”
Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said free Wi-Fi is just one of coming upgrades.
“While the unprecedented rebuilding of our region’s airports is a multiyear effort, passengers shouldn’t have to wait for better Wi-Fi,” he said. “Simply put, free, reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi has become a bedrock expectation for today’s customers.
“This step represents one of many that will seek to lift New York and New Jersey airports from the bottom rung of customer experience surveys up the curve toward greatly improved levels of customer service.”
The Wi-Fi rollout is one of several updated customer service amenities the agency is bringing to travelers at each of its airports, the agency said.
The agency said it recently launched mobile-friendly websites to provide easier access to information such as taxi wait times, enhanced lost-and-found access with improved technology on airport websites and coordination between airport partners, and has made a number of onsite improvements, including upgraded restroom facilities and real-time monitoring of bathroom conditions via a Feedback Now customer push-button.
Additionally, the port said the airports are offering an array of new dining options, as well as technology that allows customers to order food directly from the gate.
Port Authority customer surveys have continually put free high-speed Wi-Fi high on the list of what passengers seek in terms of improved airport amenities, and it comes at a time of record-setting passenger numbers.
In the first six months of 2018, more than 66.5 million flyers passed through Port Authority airports, the highest six-month period on record and a 4.3 percent increase over the same period in 2017.
Newark Liberty recently broke ground on the $2.7 billion construction of a new Terminal One that will replace the severely outdated Terminal A.
