This Once-Maligned Airport Was Just Named the Best in the U.S.

In a rags-to-riches tale that could only happen in America, the country’s worst airport is now officially its best.

Forbes’ Travel Guide named New York’s LaGuardia Airport as America’s best airport on its first Verified Air Travel Awards list, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) announced on Wednesday. “Today’s recognition is the latest in a long list of accolades given to LaGuardia throughout the course of the airport’s historic $8 billion transformation from what was once the nation’s worst airport into what is now its best,” PANYNJ said in its statement.

LaGuardia has won several national and international honors since unveiling its new facilities, including UNESCO’s 2021 Prix Versailles award which recognized LaGuardia as the best new airport in the world.

For LaGuardia staff members who have worked closely on the rehabilitation, the accolades feel hard-won. 

“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 explained. “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.”

Forbes’ Travel Guide’s inaugural awards honored 22 categories across the airline and aviation industry, including an award for the Best U.S. Airline Lounge. That honor went to another New York airport—JFK’s Terminal 4, which recently underwent a $1.5 billion renovation to modernize and expand the airport. You can check out the full list of winners here.