Forbes Travel Guide Presents Port Authority with Verified Air Travel Award Naming Laguardia Airport as the Best Airport in the Nation

Credit: PANYNJ

Survey of 5,000 of Forbes’ Most Traveled Fliers and Hospitality and Travel Experts Recognize LaGuardia’s Transformation from Nation’s Worst to Best

Award Ceremony Held in Recently Completed Terminal C, Built and Operated by Delta Air Lines

LaGuardia’s Latest Accolade Validate Port Authority’s Vision for Creating World-Class Passenger Experience at Region’s Airports

Read the Forbes Travel Guide Report Here

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today was presented with the Forbes Travel Guide’s Verified Air Travel Award naming LaGuardia Airport as the nation’s best airport based on a survey of 5,000 hospitality and travel experts and the guide’s most well-traveled fliers. The award 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.

Forbes Travel Guide CEO Hermann Elger presented the Verified Air Travel Award to Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton, who was joined by Suzette Noble, CEO of LaGuardia Gateway Partners, the developer and operator of LaGuardia’s Terminal B, and Adam Ryan, vice president of airport operations of LaGuardia, Boston and Northeast stations for Delta Air Lines, the builder and operator of LaGuardia’s Terminal C. The award ceremony was held at Terminal C, where Delta officials announced the terminal as officially completed, with a new connector and the final eight new gates opened late last year, about 18 months ahead of schedule. The $4 billion, state-of-the-art Terminal C, with 38 gates, replaced the previous terminals C and D, which were also operated by Delta.

The inaugural Forbes Travel Guide honors were awarded in 22 categories across the airline and aviation industry, including an award for best U.S. airline lounge for the Delta One lounge at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)’s Terminal 4, which recently underwent a $1.5 billion modernization and expansion project as part of the airport’s overall $19 billion transformation.

Port Authority airports, including LaGuardia, Newark-Liberty International and JFK, are undergoing a historic $30 billion transformation with the goal of creating world class and award-winning passenger facilities. Acclaim for Port Authority’s airports includes:

2025:

·       Airport Service Quality Award, best North American airport in its size class for 2024: LaGuardia Airport

·       Skytrax, 5-star rating: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

2024:

·       Forbes Travel Guide, nation’s best airport: LaGuardia Airport

·       Airport Service Quality Award, best North American airport in its size class for 2023: LaGuardia Airport

·       Skytrax, 5-star rating: Newark Liberty’s Terminal A

·       Skytrax, world’s best new airport terminal: Newark Liberty’s Terminal A

·       UNESCO’s Prix Versailles for Exterior Design: Newark Liberty’s Terminal A 

·       Business Traveller Magazine, nation’s best airport: JFK

2023:

·       Skytrax, 5-star rating: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

·       Skytrax, world’s best new airport terminal: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

·       American Society of Civil Engineers NJ, project of the year: Newark Liberty’s Terminal A

·       U.S. Green Building Council, LEED gold certification: Newark Liberty’s Terminal A and LaGuardia’s Terminal B

·       Rick Hansen Accessibility Certification, gold rating: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

2022:

·       National Academy of Construction, recognition of special achievement award: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

·       National Design-Build Institute of America, national award of excellence in aviation: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

·       Urban Land Institute/NY excellence in civic development: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

2021:

·       UNESCO’s Prix Versailles, world’s best new airport terminal: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

·       Conde Nast Traveler Hot List, best new way to travel: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

·       Queens Chamber of Commerce Building Awards, best public work infrastructure and civil project: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

·       Municipal Art Society of NY masterworks award, best new infrastructure: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

·       US Green Building Council LEED gold v4 certification: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

2020:

·       Engineering News Record, best projects award NYC: LaGuardia’s Terminal B

About the LaGuardia Redevelopment Project
In 2015, a comprehensive plan to construct a whole new LaGuardia Airport was unveiled with the goal of creating a world-class, 21^st century passenger experience featuring modern customer amenities, state-of-the-art architecture, more spacious gate areas and a unified terminal system. The $8 billion project, two-thirds of which is funded through private financing and existing passenger fees, broke ground in 2016 and was substantially completed in 2022.

In February 2018, the new Terminal B parking garage opened with more than 3,000 spaces and a dedicated level for Uber, Lyft and other for-hire car services. In December 2018, the first 18 new gates and the first new concourse in Terminal B opened. In June 2020, the soaring new 1.3 million-square-foot arrivals and departures hall at Terminal B opened. Terminal B, with 35 gates, has since won awards as best new airport terminal in the world, including the Prix Versailles from UNESCO and Skytrax, which also gave the terminal the first 5-star rating in the nation. In June 2022, Delta Air lines opened the new 1.3 million-square-foot Terminal C, which features 38 gates across four new or transformed concourses, world-class amenities, state-of-the-art technology and inspiring public art. Delta’s Terminal C was completed in 2024.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a bi-state agency that builds, operates, and maintains many of the most important transportation and trade infrastructure assets in the country. For over a century, the agency’s network of major airports; critical bridges, tunnels and bus terminals; a commuter rail line; and the busiest seaport on the East Coast has been among the most vital in the country – transporting hundreds of millions of people and moving essential goods into and out of the region. The Port Authority also owns and manages the 16-acre World Trade Center campus, which today welcomes tens of thousands of office workers and millions of annual visitors. The agency’s historic $37 billion 10-year capital plan includes unprecedented transformation of the region’s three major airports – LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and JFK – as well as an array of other new and upgraded assets, including the $2 billion renovation of the 93-year-old George Washington Bridge. The Port Authority’s annual budget of $9.4 billion includes no tax revenue from either the states of New York or New Jersey or from the city of New York. The agency raises the necessary funds for the improvement, construction or acquisition of its facilities primarily on its own credit. For more information, visit www.panynj.gov or check out the Now Arriving blog.