LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport (IATA: LGA, ICAO: KLGA, FAA LID: LGA) /ləˈɡwɑːrdiə/ is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering 680 acres (280 ha) as of January 1, 2024, the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia.
LaGuardia Airport | |||||||||||||||
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LaGuardia Airport in 2014 | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Port Authority of New York and New Jersey | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | New York metropolitan area | ||||||||||||||
| Location | East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Opened | December 2, 1939 | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 21 ft / 6 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°46′30″N 73°52′30″W | ||||||||||||||
| Website | laguardiaairport | ||||||||||||||
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FAA diagram | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Helipads | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||||||
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Source: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey | |||||||||||||||
The airport primarily accommodates airline service to domestic (and limited international) destinations. As of 2019, it was the third-busiest airport in the New York metropolitan area, behind Kennedy and Newark airports, and the twenty-first busiest in the United States by passenger volume. The airport is located directly to the north of the Grand Central Parkway, the airport's primary access highway. While the airport is a hub for both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, commercial service is strictly governed by unique regulations including a curfew, a slot system, and a "perimeter rule" prohibiting most non-stop flights to or from destinations greater than 1,500 mi (2,400 km).
Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, LaGuardia was criticized for its outdated facilities, inefficient air operations, and poor customer service metrics. In response, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) in 2015 announced a multibillion-dollar reconstruction of the airport's passenger infrastructure, which is expected to be completed by 2025.