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Breaking: NY port authority realizes what we all know - LaGuardia airport is a dump

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Apr 30th 2010 at 12:00PM

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has come to the conclusion that LaGuardia airport is "outdated".

And who wouldn't agree with them? Twenty years ago, LGA was probably considered a timeless relic, but nowadays the place is a disgrace, albeit a disgrace with a pretty decent location if you need to go to Manhattan.

As a major gateway into New York City, the place is about as welcoming as a punch in the stomach, which is why the port authority says the best solution is to completely rebuild the airport.

Of course, like any airport operator, cash for the rebuild is nowhere to be found (even though 26 million passengers pay a $4.50 facility fee when they use the airport). Several options are being evaluated, including a privatization and an airline financed reconstruction.

As an airline passenger, I don't really care how they fix LaGuardia, as long as it involves ripping the whole place down and removing any remnants of this horrible airport.

Filed under: North America, United States, Airports

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

WanderingGnomeNY Apr 30th 2010 1:03PM

As an airline passenger I take JFK. The JetBlue terminal is amazing! Also, there's no transportation to/from LaGuardia. You can only take a taxi or a bus.
JFK has easy access to subways to get you to Long Island or the City.

brian s Apr 30th 2010 10:28PM

I take the US Shuttle out of LGA quite frequently and quite honestly, I don't mind it. Sure it's old, somewhat dumpy but it gets the job done.

The only thing that annoys me is whenever it gets windy in the slightest, they seem to shut down everything but one runway. It makes for longer in-cabin wait times...

cronkbrast May 2nd 2010 8:23PM

There are FOUR, COUNT THEM FOUR MAJOR airports in the NYC area.

JFK, LaGuardia, Newark & MacArthur/Islip. Why do we need a total makeover of LGA on the tax payer dollar! LGA gets the job done as it is. You don't like the way it looks use one of the other three!

livi042254 May 2nd 2010 8:35PM

I don't care how dumpy the terminal is or how outdated the facilities- however I do care about runway length. SCARY SHORT runways. I try not to fly to LGA.

GetYourFactsRight May 3rd 2010 12:10AM

LGA's runway "scary short"? They're 7000 ft long. As long as Islip and longer than Stewart. Hmmmm......

Rob May 3rd 2010 1:38AM

I agree with you 100%. They can make the place look like the Taj Mahal. As long as you have 2 intersecting runways of only 7000ft each, the airport is useless for larger aircrafts to land. The landing pattern, short base to final approach, scares the hell out of the residents who live in Flushing.

bellamy May 2nd 2010 8:44PM

I would drive an old car 20 years, fixing it up along the way--Cheaper.
If I want a new car, then I have to cough up the money-a lot of it.
As long as it is safe to fly into and out of, then I say keep it.
Frugality at it's best!

Mike from Maine May 2nd 2010 9:33PM

I would much rather fly into LGA rather than JFK. Only 1x out of many did I not get an overnight delay in JFK due to missing connections. Filthy terminals and floors to sleep on, very unfriendly general staff, virtual lack of good signage and maps.

Fro LGA I can catch a shuttle easily to Manhattan...

IMO, JFK is THE WORST airport I have endured in the world. Even the international terminals in Seoul and Ho Chi Minh City beat it hands down.....!

T. Hunter May 2nd 2010 9:25PM

All of the New York area airports are "dumps." Every one of them, with Newark being the most tolerable. These junkyards illustrate that America's epicenter has clearly shifted out of NYC and the Northeast. Other big cities have far supassed NYC in terms of air transportation, which has led to an exodus of businesses fleeing NYC for places South and West. LGA is about as relevant today as the Polo Grounds.

Cissy May 2nd 2010 9:27PM

LGA most convenient for me, even if it is pretty dumpy. I also fly into JFK, and talk about dumps....water spots on the walls from leaks, filthy restrooms...blech, it's as bad as LGA.

Jim May 2nd 2010 11:08PM

HELLO ........All three of our airports are run by the Port Authority of NYNJ! This is a quasi private corporation with directors appointed by the governors of both states. These Directors are Paid VERY WELL ... and from reading all the comments, are doing a VERY POOR job. I fly out of Newark, a relatively newer airport, compared to the other two. Newark is filthy also....poorly kept up, poor signs, poor parking and NO FREE first hour parking for fast pickups, NOR wait locations for cell phone pickups which are common in Florida. The Port Authority Police, again very highly paid, are there to move cars along as people wait for there family members....again because of a lack of parking for quick pickups. Having traveled around the world..I would Rate NYC airports some of the worst in the world. Its a shame as we all watch NYC and America go down the drain...

phil May 2nd 2010 11:07PM

The first priority is function. Some of you picky, spoiled travelers think you need to have art and aesthetics or super deluxe surrounders at taxpayers expense. You spend only a miniscule time in your life at LGA. If it works, fine, live with it and maybe add a coat of paint.

Conan May 2nd 2010 11:10PM

I wouldnt spend $4.50 to visit NY unless it entailed taking a leak on David Letterman.

bob May 2nd 2010 11:13PM

You have 2 options Westchester County, which is a lot closer to LGA than MacArthur and Stewart ( Newburgh ) Both are underutilized especially Stewart. THE OVERFLOW SHOULD BE SWITCHED TO THOSE AIRPORTS. Airlines should be told this.

Bu May 2nd 2010 11:59PM

Who cares all you do there is just land and take off from LaGuardia! It's only an airport...sheesh...What LaGuardia needs in public transportaion directly to and from it not a makeover $$$$ Why do we all ways have to waste money and resources in this country re-doing EVERYTHING???

Fred May 3rd 2010 12:27AM

This is just another of the "we know it all and we're the experts on everything" AOL pieces. AOL is trying to portray itself as a news organization and is filled with rank amateurs with no experience who write like they just took Journalism 101. AOL's silly smugness is nauseating.

Guy May 3rd 2010 1:17AM

The JetBlue flight out of Lauderdale to NYC leaves very early, so I always get a parking place up front. We board from the front and back and are in the air before you know it. On my numerous trips, it has never failed when arriving at JFK, there will be a plane leaving for Lauderdale. They always put me on it. When the tires hit the runway in Lauderdale, with a carrry-on bag, I'm out of the airport in 10-15 minutes.
In my opinion, as busy as it is, Ft Lauderdale is the most convenient, non-confusing airport in the country.

L. W. Frank, P.E, May 3rd 2010 1:58AM

Gee; maybe I'm biassed. LGA was my "first airport"; it was 1940, I was 5, and my Dad was flying to a business meeting in Minneapolis on a shiny Eastern Airlines DC-3. The stewardesses let him walk me up the aisle and look at the pilots' cabin (How about that! Matbe that's why I ended up a control tower operator in the Marine Corps, and a private pilot back in civilian life). I've passed through LGA several times in the past 5 years as well; it's old, and a little "shopworn", but to me, it always seems better than Logan in Boston, or St. Louis, or Atlanta or Houston (or Minneapolis, for that matter!)

And, as someone else commented, it's definitely easier to navigate and closer to Manhattan and New Jersey than Idlewild (I'm really "dated", huh?). And no dirtier.