top of page

Newsroom

GGA studies, reports, statements, 
releases and press coverage.

FEATURED

ALL

Releases & Coverage

A Rikers Island terminal for LaGuardia Airport?

USA Today | April 4, 2017

Rikers Island could become a key cog for New York’s LaGuardia Airport. At least that’s one vision for the island that's included in a city-sponsored proposal on what to with the notorious island that sits next to the airport.

The report – from the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform – follows last week’s news that New York City will shut down its campus of prisons at Rikers Island.

The commission’s proposal also comes as an $8 billion (or more) overhaul of LaGuardia is already underway. While it’s not clear how easily a Rikers Island proposal could be incorporated into the existing effort, the idea received a favorable reaction from the Global Gateway Alliance that advocates for improving the New York City-area’s airports.

“For decades, LaGuardia Airport has led the nation in delays, with traffic jams in the sky and on the ground,” Global Gateway Alliance Chairman Joe Sitt says in a statement. “But the proposal to knock down Rikers, and extend LaGuardia’s runways to the island, would be a big piece of the puzzle to change all that. By replacing 1960s radar with ‘NextGen’ GPS technology, and making more room on the ground for incoming and outgoing flights, passengers will finally be able to have on-time flights in New York. That is a vision worth working for."

CN Traveler | February 28, 2017

New York hits bottom—again.

 

The final air travel numbers for 2016 are in, and the results won’t surprise anyone. While flights in general are getting more punctual, some of the most delayed airports in the U.S. are New York’s perennial trio of laggards: JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia.

 

According to a report from the Global Gateway Alliance, a group of civic leaders pushing for improvements in the Big Apple’s airports, LaGuardia finished dead last in arrival performance of the top 29 airports, with 28 percent—or one third—of flights arriving late. (Silver lining: This is slightly better than 2015, when 29 percent were tardy.) And last year, Newark had the worst on-time departure record, with one out of four flights delayed; that too, was a tiny improvement over 2015. JFK did slightly better than the other two, but still landed in the bottom five in on-time arrivals. Delay information was sourced from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and analyzed on a year-to-date basis for 2016.

CBS NY | February 27, 2017

In a revelation that likely will not be surprising for those who fly into or out of New York City airports, LaGuardia Airport is ranked worst in the nation for arriving flight delays.

 

Meanwhile, as WCBS 880’s Peter Haskell reported, Joshua Greenwald of the Global Gateway Alliance said Newark Liberty International Airport is even worse than LaGuardia for delays for departing flights.

The advocacy group called for the government to replace radar tracking with GPS.

 

“There is a still a rollout of NextGen in the New York airspace to alleviate congestion in the skies and clear the way for more on-time departures and arrivals,” Greenwald said.

Crain's NY | February 27, 2017

Travelers faced delays more frequently coming into LaGuardia Airport than at any other airport in the nation last year, an advocacy group found.

 

According to the Global Gateway Alliance's crunch of federal transportation data, the Queens airport ranked last out of 29 major airports for the percentage of on-time arrivals. LaGuardia was last in 2015 as well.

NY1 | February 27, 2017

It may be no surprise if you frequently travel but LaGuardia Airport now tops the list of U.S. airports with the worst on time arrivals.

 

That according to data from the Global Gateway Alliance.

 

Last year, nearly one in every three flights were delayed.

 

The report says without longer runways and upgrades to air traffic control technology, recent plans to improve terminals at LaGuardia will not help with delays.

 

LaGuardia is in good company, with JFK and Newark Airports also making the bottom five.

WABC | February 27, 2017

LaGuardia Airport is leading the nation in a not so prestigious category: having the most flight delays.

 

LaGuardia had the highest percentage of delays in arriving flights last year, according to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics data analyzed by the advocacy group Global Gateway Alliance.

 

Newark Airport reached the top percentile in delays for departing trips.

 

JFK Airport didn't escape the frustration of flyers. It also bottomed out on local airports with severe backups.

 

All three regional airports ranked among the bottom for delays in both categories, which measure performance of the country's 29 biggest airports.

 

"Once again, New York airports lead the nation for delays. So while the terminal redevelopment projects are important, these dollars wont be enough unless we address the delay problem too," said Joe Sitt, chairman of the alliance, in a statement. "Put simply, our airports will simply be nicer places to get stuck in."

February 27, 2017

A new study released today by the Global Gateway Alliance shows that LaGuardia was the most delayed airport in the nation for arriving flight in 2016, while Newark and JFK both finished in the bottom five.  The analysis, which compared delays at the nation’s top 29 airports for passenger traffic, also found Newark had the worst on-time performance for departing flights. 

 

"Once again, New York airports lead the nation for delays. So while the terminal redevelopment projects are important, these dollars won't be enough unless we address the delay problem too. Put simply, our airports will just be nicer places to get stuck in," said Global Gateway Alliance Chairman Joe Sitt. "The FAA must finally fully roll out NextGen satellite air traffic technology where it's most needed; the New York airspace, and we have to look at how to expand runways to alleviate the chronic congestion."

AMNY | February 26, 2017

New York City’s regional airports continue to lead the nation in delays.
LaGuardia Airport had the highest percentage of delays in arriving flights last year, while Newark Airport notched the top percentile in delays for departing trips, according to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics data analyzed by the advocacy group Global Gateway Alliance.

 

All three regional airports ranked among the bottom for delays in both categories, which measure performance of the country’s 29 biggest airports, confirming for another year the frustrations of city flyers.

 

“Once again, New York airports lead the nation for delays. So while the terminal redevelopment projects are important, these dollars wont be enough unless we address the delay problem too,” said Joe Sitt, chairman of the alliance, in a statement. “Put simply, our airports will simply be nicer places to get stuck in.”

Bergen Record | February 21, 2017

A ride to and from Newark Liberty International Airport could soon get $4 more expensive.

 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is considering a $4 “access fee” for taxis and ride-sharing companies like Uber that pick up and drop off passengers at Newark, LaGuardia and JFK International airports. [...]

Major airports around the country already impose an access fee. But Joe Sitt, chairman of the Global Gateway Alliance, said in a statement that $4 is too much to ask from passengers in the region.

 

"Passengers already pay among the highest amounts in the country to get to and from our airports by car, and there shouldn't be a big new fee added on,” Sitt said.

CBS NY | February 13, 2017

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was making moves Monday as traffic at LaGuardia Airport has been turning chaotic.

 

CBS2 reported on the problem last week. Passengers and even pilots this past Friday were forced to grab their bags and walk on dangerous highways, walk over snowy embankments, and climb over fences to make their flights. [...]

Stephen Sigmund is the executive director of the Global Gateway Alliance, which addresses transportation challenges in the metro area. He said the Port Authority has not done enough to explore solutions.

 

“The security line is not supposed to start on the Grand Central Parkway,” Sigmund said.

 

Joe Sitt, also of the Global Gateway Alliance, said the Port Authority should initiate ferry service to the Marine Air Terminal, offer park-and-ride lots at Flushing Meadows and Citi Field, and create an app to report delays.