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.

FMI: www.elliott.org/vault/pt/2002/badairport.htm