AirTrain Plans For LaGuardia Airport Canceled: What To Know

QUEENS — Gov. Kathy Hochul canceled plans to connect travels to LaGuardia Airport via AirTrain, accepting instead a recommendation to enhance bus service to the airport the U.S. President once referred to as a “third world country.”

A panel at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey concluded it did not recommend any light rail options at the airport, a project that would have cost the city more than $2 billion.

The agency that overlooks LaGuardia Airport instead recommended improving existing bus options and adding new shuttle services to the airport, which is estimated to cost under $500 million.

“It has been clear that the proposed line was both fiscally dubious and insufficiently beneficial to the communities surrounding the airport, which are in serious need of more pressing infrastructure improvements,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.

The panel also shut down the idea of installing ferry options due to the low level of ridership it would attract.

The agency recommended improvements to the existing MTA Q70 LaGuardia Link service and creating a new non-stop airport shuttle service from the terminus of the N/W subway line in Astoria.

The proposed improvements include building a mile-long exclusive bus lane on the shoulder of the northbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, installing a specially-designated bus pick-up and drop-off area near Terminal C, and enhancing lighting and signage at select subway stations.

The new shuttles would be fully electric and have dedicated bus lanes during peak hours, the agency recommended.

The Federal Aviation Administration first approved the proposed AirTrain at LaGuardia in 2021, which would have installed a direct rail connection to and from LaGuardia similar to the one at the John F. Kennedy Airport. The study was requested by the governor that same year.

Many travelers have voiced their pains when traveling through LaGuardia Aiport amid the lack of public transportation alternatives similar to the ones at JFK Airport.

Travelers coming in and out of LaGuardia, which is less than 10 miles from Manhattan, opt for cabs and ride-hailing services to get to their destinations.