America's 'worst' airport tries to reinvent itself

It's long been the bane of traveling New Yorkers' lives, and incoming president Joe Biden once described it as "third world." But while the aviation industry has been decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic, LaGuardia Airport has been quietly undergoing major renovations. And now, $8b later, the new Terminal B is almost finished. "New Yorkers love to criticize, and they love to hate. I think if you looked at every single passenger survey, LaGuardia was always the worst," says Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "Our challenge was to take it from worst to first," he said. Today, filled with art installations including one of the largest mosaic walls in the US, and even a breathtaking water feature which projects images of New York icons such as the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge onto a cascading fountain, LaGuardia is a very different place. Passengers for Air Canada, American Airlines, Southwest and United -- which are all housed at the new terminal -- have been enjoying the new public spaces since the summer.It was Joe Biden's comments in 2015 that sparked the renovation effort. New York authorities green-lit the works after the then-Vice President said, "If I blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York you'd think I must be in some third-world country." The central terminal, B, was built in 1964, and had barely changed since then. And LaGuardia was, according to travelers, among the most outdated, noisiest and least accessible airports in the country. Not to mention its on-time record, which was one of the worst in the United States. Story has more.<br/>