La Guardia Airport has turned 78 years old today, December 2, 2017. The airport opened as New York Municipal Airport on December 2, 1939, and is one of the three primary commercial air terminals serving the New York City area. The airport occupies 680 acres of the New York Borough of Queens, and is located just a fews minutes from downtown Manhattan. It serves a general population of approximately 19 million people. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey took over the operation of LGA in 1947. The facility has four passenger terminals and two main runways.
Originally regarded as a $40 million boondoggle, public fascination with air travel led to thousands of people visiting the airport to watch the airliners take off and land. Two years later, the airport was generating $935,000 a year, and quickly became a financial success. The new airport received the commitment of the five largest airlines currently operating in the United States to serve the facility. These carriers were American Airlines, Eastern Air Lines, Pan American World Airways, Transcontinental & Western, and United Airlines. Pan Am would also move it’s transatlantic flying boat service to La Guardia Airport in 1940.
LGA is currently undergoing an extensive redevelopment program in an effort to provide updated facilities for both passengers and airlines. The Port Authority will undertake the construction of a new 1.3 million square foot, 35 gate terminal building, the demolition of Hangars 2 and 4, and the construction of a new East Parking Garage. A consortium called La Guardia Gateway Partners will design, build, manage, and maintain the new terminal B under a 35-year lease agreement. Delta Air Lines will also develop, construct, operate, and maintain a brand new terminal to replace the existing terminals C and D under a new lease agreement. The lease agreements are with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and will run through 2050.
