A flier has gone viral after changes made in the early hours of the morning at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) made him have a seemingly awful experience.
Hunter Hoffman was waiting for a 5 am flight out of JFK when he discovered alarming changes that the airport went under overnight.
Hoffman claimed in his TikTok video that the airport cranked up the music, shut down water fountains and turned down the room temperature.
He then claimed that outlets were turned off and that he struggled to sleep given the armrests on seating.
The TikTokers video has received more than 173,000 views since he posted it on Tuesday.
Hunter Hoffman claimed employees at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) made bizarre changes while waiting for a 5 am flight
Hoffman then claimed that outlets were turned off and that he struggled to sleep given the armrests on seating
Hoffman claimed all the charging ports at his gate were working hours before he created his video.
Airports usually keep them on all night, but some locations shut them down temporarily to avoid juice jacking - a cyber attack involving hackers stealing information or installing malware on devices plugged into USB stations.
Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices, the FBI Denver office tweeted in 2023.
Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead.
Its unclear why JFK allegedly turned down its terminal room temperature while Hoffman was there, but the cold temperature is not abnormal.
Most airports are located in areas with less shielding from wind, and cold air is usually preferred for flight operations.
It can also be the result of the weather outside of the airport and not the airports cooling system.
As for the chairs, its common for airports worldwide to have chairs with armrests, despite Reddit users believing theyre near impossible to sleep in during delays or layovers.
Some airports opt to temporarily turn off charging ports to protect fliers from juice jacking
College student and Michigan native Bella Bakeman also had an uncomfortable overnight experience at JFK in 2023, according to The Albion Pleiad.
Worried and alone at 9:15 at night, Bakeman settled in at JFK to make sure she would catch her 8:20 flight to London.
The flier sat on what she said was a horrendous, unvacuumed carpet and uncomfortably waited for her flight.
Being alone in an airport in the middle of the night is a unique experience, she wrote.
Everything closes by 10 pm, aside from a few 24-hour restaurants (none of which were in my terminal) and there isnt much to do but distract yourself with electronic devices, read or people-watch.
Multiple TikTokers who watched Hoffmans video shared their own alleged JFK experiences that were similar to his.
Various TikTok and Reddit users claimed similar changes happened at other airports late at night or early in the morning
One TikToker claimed JFK makes frequent loud announcements, which makes it difficult for fliers to go to sleep.
Another allegedly slept on the floor overnight after being stuck at the airport during a blizzard.
At least three fliers claimed they had awful experiences at Florida airports, including Miami International and Orlando International.
This happened to me at the Orlando airport, it got SO cold & the music was loud pop & country, a commenter wrote.
The alleged Florida flier added that they wrapped themselves in random clothes from their bag, and the bathrooms were temporarily closed.
As someone whos worked in the airport for years my advice to anyone is travel as early as possible, gives time to fix mistakes and delays, traveling late this will happen more often than not, a TikToker wrote.