Survey Spots Airport Crime From New York to Zurich : Safety: The study’s validity is in dispute, but not the need for passengers to use good sense in protecting their valuables.

A survey billed as the first to statistically compare crimes against passengers at 20 of the world’s largest airports named New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport as the most crime-ridden, according to an article in the February issue of Business Traveler International magazine. Second-worst was Kloten Airport in Zurich, Switzerland. Newark’s airport ranked third and Philadelphia’s fourth, according to the survey, which was conducted by the magazine. However, several major airports, including O’Hare in Chicago and Logan in Boston, were not included in the article, or the survey, because they refused to provide crime statistics.

Some airports included in the survey aren’t happy about it. “The story is based on a misleading and inaccurate survey that is essentially meaningless,” said Mark Marchese, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Kennedy, Newark and La Guardia.

“Six of the top 15 international airports--40% of them--did not respond to Business Traveler’s survey,” Marchese said. “The six included such major airports as O’Hare in Chicago, Heathrow in London, Tokyo, Osaka and Charles de Gaulle and Orly in Paris.”

Mark Roberti, the magazine’s senior editor, agreed that the results of his article would have been different if he had received responses from other airports. “I would guess Heathrow and O’Hare might have been in the top 10,” he said.

The magazine requested information from 30 major airports: 20 in the United States and 10 in other countries. Twenty responded: 15 in the United States and five in other countries.

Larceny is the biggest crime at airports, according to Roberti.

“Business people on the go are seen as good pickings for thieves who scavenge airports the world over looking for well-heeled victims,” he wrote. “Thieves know people arriving or departing from airports are likely to be carrying cash, travelers checks, credit cards, a passport (which can fetch up to $30,000 on the black market in some countries) a laptop and other valuable items.”

“No one will faint to learn that Kennedy Airport topped our list,” Roberti wrote. “JFK has long had a reputation as a den of thieves.

“However, Zurich’s No. 2 position does not match that city’s reputation for clean living. . . . Yet statistically, it is not safe.” Roberti wrote that Miami has a reputation for crimes against travelers, so Miami International’s fifth-worst position “won’t blow anyone away.”

London’s Gatwick and Frankfurt’s Main airports ranked sixth and seventh, with more crimes per passenger than Los Angeles, which was eighth. New York’s La Guardia was ninth, St. Louis 10th, San Francisco 11th, Seattle-Tacoma 12th, Baltimore-Washington 13th, Denver’s Stapleton 14th, Dulles and National airports in Washington together ranked 15th, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego International 16th and 17th.

Atlanta’s Hartsfield had the least crime of U.S. airports in Roberti’s survey. Changi in Singapore was the safest of all 20 airports. “You are 50 times less likely to be a victim at Changi than at JFK and almost four times less likely than at Atlanta,” Roberti wrote.

Here are some tips, from Business Traveler International magazine, to avoid becoming an airport crime victim:

* Thieves look for well-dressed people who carry expensive luggage.

* Don’t put valuables or irreplaceable documents in checked luggage.

* Use hard suitcases rather than soft, which a thief can easily slash.

* Wrap bags with package tape to discourage unscrupulous baggage handlers. If one does open your suitcase, at least you’ll know right away.

* Carry only the credit cards and calling cards you’ll use. Also take numbers you will need to report a lost card.

* Keep cash in several places, so you won’t lose it all if your wallet or purse disappears. Money belts are a good idea.

* Don’t carry your passport with your cash.

* If the parking lot is in a remote part of the airport, don’t drive. If you must drive, park at a more secure lot or garage away from the airport and have a service or taxi take you to your terminal.

* Be wary of strangers who offer to assist you.

* Thieves hang around phone banks pretending to be talking, or use telephoto lenses to steal phone card and personal identification numbers. Don’t set your purse down in a restroom stall. Someone in the next stall may reach under, grab it and disappear before you can get out. Thieves also reach over doors to snatch bags from hooks.

* Don’t put your bags on the X-ray machine until you’re sure you are next in line. If you’re with someone, have him go through first. Then put his bags and yours on the machine. If someone is making a scene near the security check, don’t put your bags on the conveyor belt. If you already have, watch them when they come through on the other side.

* Never take unlicensed taxis. In Moscow, thieves steal taxis and use them to pick up foreign visitors at airports. The victims are taken to remote areas and often stripped of their money, luggage and even clothes, then pushed out of the car.

* Don’t pick up a rental car in a strange city after dark. If you arrive late, stay at an airport hotel and rent a car in the morning.

Christopher Reynolds is on vacation.