LaGuardia Airport

Most flights from LaGuardia go to destinations within the US and Canada, as well as service to Aruba, the Bahamas and Bermuda. The airport has INS/FIS facilities capable of processing customs and immigration on arriving international flights; the facilities are insufficient to handle efficiently the number of passengers that a non-precleared scheduled airline service would require. LaGuardia is the busiest airport in the US without any non-stop service to and from Europe.^[5]

A perimeter rule prohibits incoming and outgoing flights that exceed 1,500 miles (2,400 km)—except on Saturdays, when the ban is lifted, and to Denver, which was grandfathered in — so most transcontinental and international flights use the area's other two major airports, JFK and Newark.^[6]

In 2007, the airport handled 25.3 million passengers; JFK handled 47.8 million^[7] and Newark handled slightly more than 36.3 million^[7], making for a total of approximately 111 million travelers using New York airports, which is the largest airport system in the United States and second in the world after London in terms of passenger traffic.

History

Construction

The initiative to develop the airport began with a verbal outburst by New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia (in office from 1934 to 1945) upon the arrival of his TWA flight at Newark — the only commercial airport serving the New York City region at the time — as his ticket said "New York".^{citation needed} He demanded to be taken to New York, and ordered the plane to be flown to Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field, giving an impromptu press conference to reporters along the way. At that time, he urged New Yorkers to support a new airport within their city.^{citation needed}

American Airlines accepted La Guardia's offer to start a pilot program of scheduled flights to Floyd Bennett, although the program failed after several months because of Newark's relative proximity to Manhattan (La Guardia went as far as to offer police escorts to airport limousines, in an attempt to get American Airlines to continue operating the pilot program.).^{citation needed}

During the Floyd Bennett experiment, La Guardia and American executives began an alternative plan to build a new airport in Queens, where it could take advantage of the new Queens-Midtown Tunnel to Manhattan. This was the site eventually chosen for the new airport.^{citation needed} Building on the site required moving landfill from Rikers Island, then a garbage dump, onto a metal reinforcing framework. The framework below the airport still causes magnetic interference on the compasses of outgoing aircraft: signs on the airfield warn pilots about the problem.^{citation needed}

It cost New York City $23 million to turn the tiny North Beach Airport into a 550-acre modern facility. Newark Airport began renovations, but could not keep up with the new Queens airport, which Time called, "the most pretentious land and seaplane base in the world." Even before the project was completed, La Guardia had won commitments from the 5 largest airlines (Pan American Airways, American. United, Eastern Air Lines and Transcontinental & Western Air) that they would begin using the new field as soon as it opened.^[8]

The airport was dedicated on October 15, 1939, as the New York Municipal Airport, and opened for business on that December 2.[2] Newspaper accounts alternately referred to the airfield as New York Municipal Airport and LaGuardia Field until the modern name was officially applied when the airport moved to Port of New York Authority control under a lease with New York City on June 1, 1947.[3]

Because of American's pivotal role in the development of the airport, La Guardia gave the airline extra real estate during the airport's first year of operation, including four hangars (an unprecedented amount of space at the time) and a large office space that would be turned into the world's first airline lounge, the LaGuardia Admirals Club.

Later development

Although LaGuardia was a very large airport for the era in which it was built, it soon became too small for the amount of air traffic it had to handle. Starting in 1968, general aviation aircraft were charged heavy fees to operate from LaGuardia during peak hours, driving many GA operators to airports such as Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey. In 1984, to further combat overcrowding at LGA, the Port Authority instituted a "perimeter rule" banning flights from LaGuardia to cities more than 1,500 miles away (Western Airlines unsuccessfully challenged the rule in federal court). Later, the Port Authority also moved to connect JFK and Newark Airport to regional rail networks with the AirTrain Newark and AirTrain JFK, in an attempt to make these more distant airports competitive with LaGuardia. [4] In addition to these local regulations, the FAA also limited the number of flights and types of aircraft that could operate at LaGuardia (see 14 CFR § 193).

LaGuardia's traffic continued to grow. By 2000, the airport routinely experienced overcrowding-related delays, many of which were more than an hour long. That year, Congress passed legislation to revoke the federal traffic limits on LaGuardia by 2007. The reduced demand for air travel following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City quickly slowed LaGuardia's traffic growth, helping to mitigate the airport's delays. Ongoing Port Authority investments to renovate the Central Terminal Building and improve the airfield layout have also made the airport's operations more efficient in recent years.

Planes taking off from LaGuardia often fly directly over nearby Shea Stadium, causing disruptions at New York Mets games.

In late 2006, construction began to replace the current tower, built in 1962, with a more modern one.

Accidents and incidents

Over the years, these incidents have led to discussions on whether or not LaGuardia's 7,000-foot runways are adequate to handle large passenger aircraft. There are several commercial airports in the U.S. with shorter runways (Chicago Midway and Bob Hope Airport, for example).

Terminals, airlines and destinations

Central Terminal Building (CTB)

The Central Terminal Building (CTB) serves most of LaGuardia's domestic airlines. It is six blocks long, consisting of a four-story central section, two three-story wings and four concourses (A, B, C, and D) with 38 aircraft gates.^[12] It was dedicated on April 17, 1964, and cost $36 million. Delta and US Airways left the CTB in 1983 and 1992 respectively to their own dedicated terminals on the east side of the airport. The Port Authority and various airlines have carried out a $340 million improvement project in the 1990s and early 2000s to expand and renovate the existing space. [5]

Concourse A

Concourse B

Concourse C

Concourse D

Delta Terminal

The Delta Flight Center opened on June 18, 1983, at a cost of approximately $90 million. It was designed to accommodate Delta's new Boeing 767 and Boeing 757 aircraft.^[13]

Marine Air Terminal

The Marine Air Terminal (MAT) was the airport's original terminal for overseas flights. The waterside terminal was designed to serve the fleet of flying boats, or Clippers, of Pan American Airways, America's sole international airline throughout the 1930s and 1940s. When a Clipper would land in Long Island Sound, it would taxi up to a dock where passengers would disembark into the terminal. After World War II, new four-engine land planes were developed, signaling the end of the Clipper era. The final Clipper flight left the terminal in February 1952, bound for Bermuda.

The terminal is home of the largest mural created during the Roosevelt era Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Arts Program. Created by New York artist James Brooks, the mural, Flight, encircles the upper rotunda walls, telling the story of man's conquest of the heavens up through 1942 when the work was completed. During the 1950s, many WPA artists were thought to be in collusion with communists. Several works of art were destroyed that had been created for Post Offices and other public facilities. Likewise, Flight was completely painted over with wall paint by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. In the late 1970s, Geoffrey Arend, an aviation historian and author of Great Airports: LaGuardia, mounted a campaign to restore the mural to its original splendor. With the help of Brooks, LaGuardia Airport manager Tim Peirce, and donations from Reader’s Digest founders DeWitt Wallace and Laurance Rockefeller, Flight was rededicated in 1980.

In 1986, Pan Am restarted flights at the MAT with the purchase of New York Air’s shuttle service between Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C. In 1991, Delta Air Lines bought the Pan Am Shuttle and subsequently started service from the MAT on September 1. In 1995, the MAT was designated as a historic landmark. A $7 million dollar restoration was completed in time for the airport’s sixty-fifth anniversary of commercial flights on December 2, 2004. Along with the Delta Shuttle, general aviation operates from the terminal through a fixed based operator.

US Airways Terminal

The 300,000 square foot US Airways Terminal, designed by William Nicholas Bodouva + Associates Architects and Planners, was opened September 12, 1992, at a cost of $250 million. The original tenant was intended to be Eastern Airlines. Trump Shuttle later occupied the terminal before selling the gate leases to US Airways. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says that the terminal handles approximately 50% of regional airliner traffic at LaGuardia. [6]

Ground Transportation

Bus

There are also many private bus lines operating express buses to Manhattan, the Hudson Valley, and Long Island.

Taxi

Taxicabs serving the Airport are licensed by New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission. The fares within New York City are metered. Uniformed Taxi Dispatchers are available to assist passengers before they start the rides.^[14]

Limousine

New York City's limousine services, which are licensed by NYCTLC New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, offer various rates ranging from $40 - $150 from LGA airport to Manhattan, excluding tips and tolls in a sedan or limousine. Depending on the time of day, travel from LGA to Midtown Manhattan can be as quick as 25 minutes. Limousines accommodate 2-20 passengers depending upon the size of the limo.

In popular culture

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