$4bn overhaul for ‘notorious’ LaGuardia Airport in New York

Congestion is the biggest reason why LaGuardia Airport in New York is regularly rated the worst in America: Neither planes nor people move in an efficient manner through a facility designed for far, far less traffic.

When it’s completed in summer of 2022, a gleaming new LaGuardia will be a modern space featuring a collection of arteries and ample natural light, where passengers walk above moving airplanes as they head to their gates.

Designers are planning to reduce the distance from curb to gate by an average of 300 feet, the project’s chief executive, Stewart Steeves, said.

New, more upscale dining and retail options are also likely. The first new gates are slated to open in the spring of 2018. For New Yorkers faced with the prospect of using LaGuardia, going there early has always been a function of terrible necessity.

LaGuardia Gateway Partners, the consortium managing the aged central terminal and its $4bn (€3.84bn), six-year overhaul, will construct and operate in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The consortium has also budgeted $5m to address the most offensive aspects of the current terminal, including patches to its famously leaky roof, upgrades to notoriously unwelcoming restrooms, and new paint and repairs to the spotty air-conditioning system.