Hold onto your luggage, folks!
NYC’s dramatically made-over LaGuardia Airport has been named best in the fifty states, according to the Forbes Travel Guide.
Yes, that’s the same LaGuardia that President Biden once infamously compared to “some third-world country.”
Thanks to a years-long $8 billion reinvention, the much-maligned airport has been transformed into an award winner — one that’s flown from the bottom to the top of the list.
A survey of 5,000 travel experts and well-traveled fliers resulted in the shock announcement.
“From the very start, our mission at LaGuardia Airport was to transform what was once the worst airport in the nation into an airport that would rival the best in the world,” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton, said in a statement.
“Today’s award from Forbes Travel Guide is further proof that with our private partners, Delta Air Lines and LaGuardia Gateway Partners, we have created a new LaGuardia Airport that is no longer a national laughingstock, but something our entire region and country can be proud of,” Cotton gushed.
Just a few years ago, LaGuardia was crowded with angry passengers stranded by delays, searching for lost baggage, and complaining of shoddy customer service.
But billions of dollars later, the travel hub is now all but unrecognizable to New Yorkers on the fly.
“From worst to first, this new and well-deserved recognition is a testament to the hardworking men and women in my administration that oversaw this $8 billion transformation under difficult circumstances, in record time and on budget,” Former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement responding to the accolade.
“This award from Forbes Travel Guide, recognizing LaGuardia as the best airport in the nation, is affirmation of all the hard work and resources that the Port Authority and our partners have invested to reimagine what LaGuardia could become,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said.
“Today, we are no longer imagining what our airports can become – we are realizing our goal to create world-class airports across our region.”
And this isn’t the first time the Queens airport has landed a top spot on a prestigious list.
Earlier this year, LaGuardia was named one of the best North American airports according to the Airport Service Quality survey. Earlier, Terminal B was named the World’s Best New Airport Terminal by Skytrax and UNESCO.
LaGuardia’s rebuild kicked off in 2015 with a vision to update customer amenities, unveil state-of-the-art architecture, open more spacious gate areas and create a unified terminal system.
It seems the renovations have taken off.
