Chronic traveler and Internet travel voice
Christopher Elliott has released his picks for the five worst
airports in which to spend a layover.
He looked at all the on-time figures, of course; but his ratings
are more subjective -- like the ratings a person would
give, rather than having a bureaucrat read off some numbers.
His 'picks' aren't entirely surprising, although a
three-way tie for 'worst' is, especially when you consider
that they're all in New York: EWR (Newark, which,
of course, is technically NOT in New York), JFK,
and LGA (LaGuardia) all came out on the bottom.
Here's some of his reasoning: "Newark is an enormous construction
site, a dreadful, disorganized mess of a terminal. There's an
almost-constant traffic jam in front of JFK, and I find it
astounding that it recently opened another terminal (as if that
would somehow make things better). But LaGuardia is in a class by
itself, with its dark terminals, predictable delays and reports of
lax security." He really dowsn't like spending time there, even
though he admits he's a frequent traveler through all three: "If I
were calling the shots at the Port Authority of New York & New
Jersey (the agency responsible for these facilities) I'd tear them
down and start over."
Like so many list-makers, Elliott packed his 'five
worst' list with more than five awardees. He really hates
MIA (Miami), too. It's confusing getting in and
out, even if you somehow survive the road traffic. And the food's
lousy.
Because of the hassles that travelers encounter at the hands of
the security there, SJC (San Jose International)
is next on his list of hated places to use. The longest security
checkpoint lines in the business, no jetways, and no bathrooms past
security add up to make San Jose a good place to avoid.
Of course, nearly everybody hates LAX, and
Elliott is no exception. A lot of the angst about LAX isn't the
airport's fault, of course: it's location, location, location. Even
though a lot of the blame falls on geography, though, Elliott says
the airport, like the airspace around it, is overcrowded. Oh -- and
it's not friendly, either.
Going back to the Atlantic side of the country
[what -- there aren't any worthwhile complaint objects not located
on the coasts? --ed.], Mister Chris says Logan International
(BOS) just had to make the 'top five' list. He
explains, "The usual complaints here: big crowds, long lines,
never-ending construction."
Take heart, travelers: Elliott says there are a lot of old
least-favorites that have really improved, so there's hope for
these seven, too: "So even though the terminals have problems, the
problems aren't terminal," he reminds us.
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