20 year old daughter having to spend night at JFK airport.

[DaughterStranded]

Not an AIBU, but posting for traffic as really worried.
20 year old DD has arrived at JFK airport to find connecting flight to South Carolina cancelled due to signalling issues. The next connecting flight will go 7am tomorrow morning. There are no earlier flights to any nearby airports available.
DD has decided to spend the night at JFK airport. I am worried she will fall asleep and get robbed of her phone/money. Anyone else had this situation to deal with? Any advice or tips anyone?

God forbid we have people that care about each other and help out when things don’t go to plan 🙄 Do you want a medal for having the ‘resilience’ to sleep rough?

That is not what the poster is saying and you know it.

I guess the comments about unresiliant children has hit a nerve?

If she was genuinely sleeping rough under a bridge in New York then yes, I’d be worried. Spending the night in a well lit, air conditioned airport with security guards everywhere would be uncomfortable but not unsafe.

There are some very sketchy people hanging around at Jamaica where you change from the LIRR/subway for the air train but JFK itself is fine. I assume if she was changing planes she was in the secure bit?

Honestly I think you panicked hearing New York but it would be like spending the night at Heathrow, not Piccadilly Circus. JFK is an international 24 hour airport so there would always be people around, not least all the others who were going to get the same flight ad your daughter.

It would have been a bit boring and uncomfortable but not the end of the world and "the night I spent at JFK" would have just faded in to an amusing post holiday anecdote.

@MariaLuna I knew when I posted in AIBU that I would get at least one post like yours! There seems to be a theme on MN of some posters feel that it is a crime to provide any help to DC once they hit the golden age of 18.
Fortunately for me, the overwhelming majority of posters have been kind and helpful and have provided a wealth of useful information which has been extremely useful.

I slept on the floor of Kuala Lumpur airport at her age. I’m sure she’ll be fine.

?? That’s exactly what she’s saying. Regardless, the daughter was already planning to kip at the airport anyway and her mother just offered her the room. Daughter didn’t call up ‘needing’ a solution, so what’s the problem? Just wanting to make OP feel bad for some arbitrary reason?

And why of why is every critical comment on here met with ‘hit a nerve?’. No, my kids are 6 years old and whenever I went travelling my parents only got a text message or two. It’s not that deep.

And what’s the issue with getting a room if you prefer?

@Chatonette Thank you. Will do!

No issue at all! A room sounds like a good plan but she should be sorting it all out herself.

Just ignore the wankers with their perfect parenting skills. It doesn’t matter how old your kids are - some of us still like to help and protect them.

When I was that age JFK airport would be a significant upgrade on the various transport hubs I'd snoozed in overnight. My parents didn't know which country I was in.

Imagine phoning your mum for help at 20! Blimey. If you're big enough to get on a plane you're big enough to sort out any travel challenges that go with it. Why can't she book herself into a hotel? That's why you travel with a credit card.

Thanks @VJBR

I slept at Tel Aviv airport, forty years ago. Uncomfortable but safe. Loads of security guards about.

Oh dear.

Read the post again. It is absolutely not what she is saying.

Poor comprehension skills?

She likely didn’t have the money to waste on it. OP said it was expensive.

It's an airport, in America.
It has some of the beat security in the world.

At 21 I was sleeping on train station floors and dodgy youth hostels across Europe.

“Poor comprehension skills” – another classic out of the MN playbook. Want to go for the hat trick?

Comprehension is a-ok, thanks. She thinks daughter should have not called her mum (despite very likely just informing her that her flight was significantly delayed), sorted herself out (even though daughter did intended to just kip at the airport) and OP shouldn’t have stepped in.

Yes, this. DD has worked and saved for the trip. She is on a limited budget and was going to sleep in the airport rather than pay the money to stay in the TWA hotel. The cost for one night in TWA hotel was £440, so DD felt she couldn't justify the cost.

I have no problem with parents helping adult children out....21 is still young, and even at 40+ occasionally I need some outside help (usually from OH/siblings now).

But I think booking a £400+ room in a luxury hotel to avoid spending a few hours in an airport with other delayed travellers is absolutely crazy - especially in America.

Wow, thats a crazy price!!! But at least she is safe, and hopefully you will recover some or all of the cost.

Another further hotel might have been cheaper but taxis would have also cost money.

I don't understand why jet blue are not covering it if its a connecting flight. Airlines often get cheaper prices from hotels as well.

Yes, that's right. I don't think OP should have stepped in and organised an expensive hotel room. In her shoes I would have said 'that sounds annoying but you'll be fine and can catch up on sleep soon.'

Can't see a problem with helping out a relative no matter their age.

I must look up this TWA hotel, never heard of it before and it sounds amazing!

Bollocks they are.

Probably too late now, but we flow through jfk earlier this year and there are locked places you can hire to go sleep.