Last month our daughter who lives in France flew into JFK. She didn’t have a US sim card in her phone, so she used the payphone after clearing customs/immigration to let me know to pull to the terminal and pick her up.
I haven’t used a payphone in about three years. Prior to that, courts in CT did not permit phones with cameras in the building. I would have to check my cellphone with the judicial Marshal before clearing security and if I had to make a call while in the building I used the payphone. They had booths to provide privacy.
When it became almost impossible to get new cellphones without cameras the rules changed.