It is the smallest of the three airports at which travelers land in New York. “Small” is relative when the word is used in connection with the Big Apple. Compared to John F. Kennedy Airport and Newark , LaGuardia is actually the baby among New York airports in terms of both the area and the number of flights and passengers handled (almost 27 million in 2015).
However, this does not detract from the popularity of the city’s residents. With them, LaGuardia is extremely popular; not least because this airport is so easy to get to. Mainly domestic flights take off and land from here, but some international destinations are also offered.
If you want to fly on from New York to Canada or the Caribbean, for example, there is a good chance that it will start from LGA. This is LaGuardia’s international airport code. The airport, which is less than 15 kilometers from mid-Manhattan, is in the New York borough of Queens. It is named after Fiorello LaGuardia, who was Mayor of New York between 1934 and 1945 and who organized the city’s ailing finances during his tenure. La Guardia is currently undergoing an extensive renovation and modernization program. The conversions and expansions should be completed by 2021 and will cost over four billion dollars.
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An airport with an extremely melodious past
LaGuardia certainly has a bright future, but the past can also be seen and, above all, heard. The area on which runways, terminals and hangars are located today belonged to the famous German-born piano manufacturer William Steinway in the second half of the 19th century. He bought the land from farmers in what is now Queens in order to be able to move his production facilities out of Manhattan and also to create living space for his workers. In the heart of New York it was too restless for the aesthetic and there were far too many strikes for his taste. But piano makers shouldn’t neglect their leisure time in Queens either. Together with the German brewer Georg Ehret, Steinway therefore created an amusement park, which incidentally was a complete success from the start. Only 50 years later During the Great Depression of 1929 the site was sold and it was planned to be used as an airport. In addition to other production facilities such as Hamburg, Steinway’s pianos and grand pianos are still manufactured in Queens to this day, very close to one of the LaGuardia runways.
The proximity to Manhattan makes it
One of the big pounds that LaGuardia can take on New Yorkers is the airport’s excellent location. Generously calculated, it is 15 kilometers east of Manhattan; depending on the location, this can be a few kilometers less. That not only makes it easy to get here by car. Alternatively, La Guardia can also be easily reached by taxis or local public transport.
Travelers who have several or large pieces of luggage with them are best advised to take a taxi. As in many airports around the world, there are black sheep in the arrival halls of LaGuardia, who lure with supposedly good tariffs. They shouldn’t be taken for granted. The normal price for a safe yellow taxi is between 17 and 30 US dollars, depending on the destination and any bridge toll. Licensed vehicles wait for passengers directly in front of the arrival halls. There is also a “Port Authority Welcome Center” in each arrival hall, where uniformed airport staff can provide information about transport options. Tour groups can also rent large-capacity taxis (“vans”) with up to six seats there. The target price per vehicle is currently (May 2016) around 125 US dollars; independently of,
Those who only travel with light luggage can get to Manhattan by bus for only around four dollars.
Airport LaGuardia at a glance
- New York’s smallest airport is ideal for domestic flights as well as travel to and from Canada and the Caribbean
- only 15 kilometers from mid-Manhattan
- cheap bus and taxi tariffs, also for groups