Frommers' 10 Worst Airport Terminals in the World

Jan. 18, 2012 — -- intro:

Weary travelers stuck at New York's JFK airport or Chicago's Midway airport may be all too familiar with the drab surroundings and service during a delayed layover. In what may be affirmation for some frequent fliers, Frommers.com has included four U.S. terminals in its list of the 10 worst airport terminals.

Frommers.com list included the 10 best and worst terminals, as reported by USA Today. The travel guide site based the ranking on cleanliness, services, on-time departures, navigation, and ease of travel to and from a city's center.

New York JFK's terminal 3, now used for Delta flights, was ranked as the worst in the world. However, Delta said a renovation project to be completed by 2013 will transform the terminal into a modern facility.

"Terminal 3 is known for endless immigration lines in a dank basement, an utter lack of food and shopping options, three crowded and confusing entry points, and hallways that could have been designed by M.C Escher for vomiting international travelers out onto an underground sidewalk with no cabs available," Frommers.com said. "There's also a sense that the cleaning crew gave up in despair a while ago."

While four of the 10 worst terminals are in the U.S., only one American terminal made it to the top 10 list of the best terminals: Jetblue Airway's Terminal 5 in New York's JFK Airport, which was No. 5.

The best airport terminal is Hajj Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is only open during the six-week Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslims traditionally must travel to Mecca at least once in their lifetime.

Here is Frommers.com's list of the 10 worst airport terminals in the world:

quicklist:title: New York JFK Airport Terminal 3text:

quicklist:title: Manila, Philippines Airport Terminal 1text:

quicklist:title: Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal B/Ctext:

quicklist:title: Nairobi, Kenya Jomo Kenyatta International Airporttext:

quicklist:title: Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 3text:

quicklist:title: Amman, Jordan Queen Alia Airporttext:

quicklist:title: New York LaGuardia Airport Terminal 5text:

quicklist:title: Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airporttext:

quicklist:title: Paris' Beauvais Airporttext:

quicklist:title: Chicago Midway Airporttext: