Roberta Aguirre
LaGuardia Airport (IATA: LGA, ICAO: KLGA, FAA LID: LGA) is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. It is situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. The airport was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after Fiorello H. La Guardia, a former mayor of New York City. LaGuardia Airport is one of three major airports in the New York metropolitan area and is the closest airport to Manhattan.
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What You'll Learn
LaGuardia Airport's history and previous names
LaGuardia Airport (IATA: LGA, ICAO: KLGA, FAA LID: LGA) is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. It is situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. Covering 680 acres (280 hectares) as of January 1, 2025, the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after Fiorello H. La Guardia, a former mayor of New York City who advocated for the development of municipal airports.
The ground that LaGuardia Airport stands on was first used for the Gala Amusement Park, owned by the Steinway family. The park was sold and transformed into a 105-acre private airfield named the Glenn H. Curtiss Airport, after the renowned aviation pioneer. It was later renamed the North Beach Airport in 1935.
New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia was a strong advocate for aviation and pushed for the development of a central "express" airport to complement the existing Floyd Bennett Field. In 1934, he threw a tantrum by refusing to deplane from a TWA flight, declaring that his ticket showed his destination as New York, not Newark. This stunt helped spearhead the idea of turning the North Beach Airport into an airport for commercial flights.
The New York Municipal Airport-LaGuardia Field was dedicated on October 15, 1939, and officially opened for business on December 2, 1939. It was renamed simply to LaGuardia Airport in 1953, three months before Fiorello La Guardia passed away from pancreatic cancer. The airport has been in operation for over 80 years and is one of the busiest airports on the East Coast, serving over 25 million passengers per year on average.
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Location and distance from Manhattan
LaGuardia Airport (IATA: LGA, ICAO: KLGA, FAA LID: LGA) is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, in the borough of Queens, New York City. It is situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. The airport is about seven miles from Midtown Manhattan, making it the closest airport to Manhattan out of New York's three major airports. LaGuardia is located directly to the north of the Grand Central Parkway, the airport's primary access highway.
The FAA-approved "Expressway Visual Approach to Runway 31" involves aircraft turning northeast on 85° and following the Long Island Expressway after reaching Flushing Meadow Park. The aircraft then executes a 135° left turn over Flushing Bay and joins the final approach to Runway 31. This approach pattern aims to reduce noise, avoid JFK Airport traffic, and maximise air-traffic capacity in the New York TRACON.
LaGuardia Airport is not directly served by rail. However, it is connected to its surroundings by bus services. All terminals are served by accessible public MTA bus lines, including two Select Bus Services (SBS). Free transfers to the New York City Subway are provided when passengers use OMNY or MetroCard. The airport also operates a complementary internal shuttle bus route that services all terminals.
LaGuardia Airport is smaller than both JFK and Newark airports, but it is still a significant airport in the New York area. It is named after Fiorello H. La Guardia, a former mayor of New York City.
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Transport connections to the airport
LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. The airport is named after Fiorello H. La Guardia, a former mayor of New York City. As of 2023, it was the third-busiest airport in the New York metropolitan area.
LaGuardia Airport has three terminals (A, B, and C) that are not physically connected. A free shuttle bus operates pre-security to transport passengers between terminals. Each terminal has a central security checkpoint, allowing passengers to walk between concourses for connecting flights without clearing security again.
Ground transportation services, including taxis, car rental shuttles, and ride-share services like Uber, are available at the airport. Terminal A, also known as the Marine Air Terminal, is the only terminal with a pick-up and drop-off point for shuttle buses to the car rental lots, located outside the Art Deco rotunda.
LGA is served by accessible public MTA bus lines, including two Select Bus Services (SBS). Free transfers to the New York City Subway are provided when passengers pay using OMNY or MetroCard. Despite many proposals, the airport is not directly served by rail.
LGA is located directly north of the Grand Central Parkway, which serves as the primary access highway to the airport.
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The airport's busiest year on record
LaGuardia Airport (IATA: LGA, ICAO: KLGA, FAA LID: LGA), colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA, is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. The airport is named after Fiorello H. La Guardia, a former mayor of New York City.
LaGuardia Airport had its busiest year on record in 2024, with a total of 145.9 million air passengers flying through. This surpassed the previous record of 143.8 million set in 2023. The year saw a record number of international travellers, eclipsing the previous high in pre-pandemic 2019. The surge in passenger volume was spread across the Port Authority's airports, with both JFK and LaGuardia recording their busiest years ever in 2024.
The busy period continued through December 2024, which was the busiest December ever for Port Authority airports. A total of 12.5 million passengers flew through the agency's airports, a 5% increase over the previous December record set in 2023. The holiday period of December 21, 2024, to January 2, 2025, brought 5.5 million passengers through, marking the busiest Christmas/New Year travel period on record. This was a 7% increase from 2023.
The increase in travel at New York's major hub airports is an exciting achievement for the Port Authority, which has been planning and undergoing renovations at its three major facilities. LaGuardia Airport has also undergone recent redevelopment, with Terminal B opening in 2020 and Terminal C in 2022. Both terminals were awarded the Skytrax 5-star designation for their impressive design.
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The airport's runways and approach procedures
LaGuardia Airport (IATA: LGA, ICAO: KLGA, FAA LID: LGA) is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. It is situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. LaGuardia Airport was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. The airport accommodates airline services to domestic and limited international destinations. As of 2023, it was the third-busiest airport in the New York metropolitan area.
The airport originally opened with four runways at 45°-degree angles to each other, the longest (13/31) being 6,000 ft (1,800 m). Runway 18/36 was closed after a United DC-4 ran off the south end in 1947, and runway 9/27 (4,500 ft) was closed around 1958 to allow for the terminal's northward expansion. Runway 13/31 was shifted northeastward in 1961 to facilitate the construction of a parallel taxiway. In 1965–66, the two remaining runways were extended to their current length of 7,000 ft (2,100 m) by moving landfill from the nearby Rikers Island into metal frameworks extending into the surrounding waterways.
The FAA-approved instrument departure procedure is called "Whitestone Climb". Aircraft departing from runway 13 circle over Flushing and head to the Whitestone Bridge in the north. The "Expressway Visual Approach to Runway 31" is another approved procedure. Aircraft approaching LGA from the southwest, adopting the Expressway Approach, turn northeast on 85° after crossing the intersection of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and the Long Island Expressway in Long Island City. After reaching Flushing Meadow Park, the aircraft executes a 135° left turn over the Flushing Bay and joins the final approach to runway 31.
Planeview Park, a 1.03-acre (0.42 ha) public park overlooking the approach end of runway 4, is a popular spot for aircraft spotting. For passengers approaching LGA in an aircraft, the left-hand window seats offer the best views of the harbour and Manhattan when landing from the southwest on runway 4. Approaching LGA from the northwest or northeast, the right-hand window seats provide the best views of Manhattan.
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Frequently asked questions
LGA stands for LaGuardia Airport, named after Fiorello H. La Guardia, a former mayor of New York City.
LaGuardia Airport is located in East Elmhurst, in the borough of Queens, New York City.
LaGuardia Airport is about seven miles from Midtown Manhattan, making it the closest airport to Manhattan.
LaGuardia Airport has four terminals, two runways, and two helipads.
Buses are the only mode of mass transit to and from the airport. All terminals are served by accessible public MTA bus lines, and free transfers to the New York City Subway are provided when passengers use OMNY or MetroCard. The airport also has a complimentary internal shuttle bus route that serves all terminals.
