LaGuardia’s three terminals — A, B and C — sit in a row along the Grand Central Parkway in Queens, about 8 miles from Midtown Manhattan, making it the closest of the three major New York area airports. The terminals are not walkable between each other; a free shuttle bus connects them, along with parking and the car pick-up areas.

If your memory of LaGuardia is an airport regularly voted America’s worst, update it: an $8 billion ground-up rebuild was completed in January 2025, and Forbes Travel Guide named LGA the best airport in the United States in both 2024 and 2025. Every scheduled passenger now flies through a terminal built in the last few years.

One rule shapes everything at LGA

LaGuardia operates under a perimeter rule: nonstop flights are limited to destinations within 1,500 miles, with exceptions for Denver and for Saturday flights. That is why there are no flights to Europe and almost none to the West Coast — LGA is a domestic and short-haul airport by design. For long-haul trips you will be using JFK or Newark.

The terminals, one by one

Terminal A — the Marine Air Terminal

The landmarked 1939 Marine Air Terminal — originally built for transatlantic seaplanes — no longer handles scheduled airline flights. It now serves general aviation through Modern Aviation. It is worth knowing about mainly so an old map does not send you there: if a dated guide shows Spirit or Frontier at “Terminal A”, treat it as stale and check your boarding pass, because assignments moved around during the rebuild.

Terminal B — everyone except Delta

The rebuilt Terminal B handles every scheduled airline at LaGuardia apart from Delta: American, JetBlue, Southwest, United, Air Canada, Frontier and Porter all operate here. The design is unusual — a central headhouse connects to two island concourses by elevated pedestrian bridges that aircraft taxi underneath. The Level 4 food hall in the headhouse is genuinely good by airport standards, and American’s Admirals Club sits above the gate level.

Terminal C — Delta’s terminal

Terminal C opened in June 2022 as Delta’s $4 billion flagship — the airline’s largest-ever airport investment. All Delta flights at LGA, including regional Delta Connection services, use this terminal. Its 37 gates spread across four concourses that are all linked inside security, so any gate is reachable without re-screening. The Delta Sky Club here is the airline’s largest anywhere, at 34,000 square feet with an outdoor Sky Deck overlooking the ramp.

Getting to and from the airport

LaGuardia has no rail link — it is the trade-off for being the closest airport to Manhattan. The best budget route is the free Q70 LaGuardia Link bus, which runs with luggage racks between the terminals and the Roosevelt Avenue / 74th Street subway station in Jackson Heights, connecting to the 7, E, F, M and R trains. Door to door from Midtown, allow 45 to 60 minutes.

Taxis and rideshares pick up at designated areas outside each terminal. The drive to Midtown is short on the map — 8 miles — but the Grand Central Parkway and the East River crossings are unforgiving at peak times: the same trip can take 20 minutes or well over an hour. Check live traffic before choosing between the bus and a car.

Which New York airport should you use?

For domestic trips starting or ending in Manhattan or Queens, LGA is usually the quickest door to door. For long-haul international, the perimeter rule rules it out — compare JFK and Newark on our New York airports page.