When it comes to bad airports, New York is number one! At least that's what a story in Frommer's would have us believe. In a list of the ten worst airport terminals in the world, the travel company singled out all three of New York's major airports for consideration. Why? "In large part because they're run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a hideously mismanaged money sink that does a poor job of responding to air travelers' needs." more ›

'Tis the season for holiday air travel nightmares, from overbooked flights that prevent you from seeing Grandma to cupcakes in jars as security threats. So it shouldn't be surprising to hear that when a 9-year-old flying Southwest Airlines from Tennessee to LaGuardia Airport was rerouted, her family had no idea. more ›

Laser pointer pranksters, be warned: the Federal Aviation Administration is coming for you! The FAA has launched a manhunt for laser-wielding criminals after a spate of suspiciously connected attacks against pilots at LaGuardia Airport over the weekend. more ›

The city's three major airports are resuming and rescheduling the hundreds of flights cancelled by Hurricane Irene, though officials warn that not everything is hunky dory just yet. more ›

Airlines have begun cancelling hundreds of flights to and from New York-area airports as Hurricane Irene draws closer—bad news for travelers trying to get the hell out of Dodge. more ›

Yesterday, the NY Post reported that the FAA redrew the boundaries of Laguardia Airport's "safety zone" to allow for a huge trash facility. And since birds love trash, there are concerns that it'll become bird strike central, a la Flight 1549 (more fodder for the Post's war on birds). Which is why Flight 1549 hero Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger has waded into the debate. And he thinks this is "terrible." more ›

Sure, La Guardia isn't as nice as say, JFK, Newark, Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal, but is it a "Third World Airport," as fake-haired vulgarian Donald Trump claimed it was yesterday? It sure is, according to someone who would know: Port Authority Executive Director Christopher Ward told the Daily News, "This is recently the only thing he's actually been somewhat right about." Oh REALLY? What about his clear-eyed assessment of the Libyan situation? And we look ghastly every morning before we apply Trump's patented QuikStik (the searing pain means it's working!). more ›

Since the Transportation Security Administration rolled out their new full-body scanners in November, they've received over 1,000 complaints about TSA agents getting a little too friendly during "enhanced" pat downs, which travelers can opt for if they don't want to go through the scanners. And now they're apparently doing them just for kicks? Nancy Campbell, 33, tells the Post she was groped during a pat-down at LaGuardia Airport last week after she had cleared security. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, a fuel truck collided into a Delta Airlines plane at LaGuardia Airport. According to NY1, Delta said "all 106 passengers aboard flight 2879 were sitting down and the plane wasn't moving when the accident occurred." However, the flight, which was scheduled to fly to Fort Lauderdale, was canceled. more ›

A Georgia man wound up missing his flight home last week after admitting to a luggage handler that he had a .357-caliber handgun stashed in his bag. Authorities also found 15 rounds of hollow-point ammunition in a locked gun box. However, the TSA says guns are permitted in checked luggage, as long as they are "unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided container, and declared to the airline at check-in," which it seems was everything this man did. It's unclear if he was detained or if the airport authorities were just slow to check his baggage, but, to quote the Post, the whole situation seemed "just plane dumb." more ›

Got your Flying Pasties? In September the full-body imaging scanners will arrive at last at JFK, La Guardia, and Newark airports. And along with the knowledge that a TSA worker is leering at your naughty bits, you can also expect the security screening process to take even longer. At a meeting with reporters yesterday, a TSA spokeswoman acknowledged that "there could be" longer waits to get through the checkpoints. more ›

Yesterday around 3 p.m. word came in that the NYPD Harbor Patrol was assisting in removing a dog that jumped into the water after running down runway 22 at LaGuardia Airport. The NY Post has more details today, reporting that a "large, rare" dog had taken off from a cargo holding area, leading some workers on a chase. The 98-pound male Perro de Presa Canario managed to swim about a mile off shore before the NYPD caught up with him. more ›

After a pilots' strike over wages forced Spirit Airlines to cancel flights since last Saturday, the airline has reached a deal with the pilots and says flights will begin again tomorrow. However, the strike won't be over until the pilots sign a back-to-work agreement; Sean Creed, a Spirit captain and union rep, told the AP, "I think our people will be more than willing to assist the company in getting itself back together and fully operational as soon as we possibly can." more ›

Yesterday, Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward said at a Crain's event, "La Guardia Airport should not be the gateway for domestic flights into New York City. It should fundamentally be torn down and rebuilt again," and called the facility "chaotic." Of course, it's not like there's any money to do that right now, which is why Ward later told reporters, "The capital necessary to rebuild La Guardia is not there. But the planning capacity is and we're working with the consulting industry to reimagine what La Guardia could, in fact, look like when it gets completely rebuilt." more ›

Spirit Airlines, which services LaGuardia Airport, announced yesterday that they will begin charging for carry-on bags in August. The new policy will allow passengers to bring one item on the plane (such as a backpack or purse) for free, and will charge passengers $30 for another carry on item if they check in online, and $45 if they check in at the gate. That's right folks, for almost half the price of a one way trip to Cancun, you can bring all of your stuff with you! more ›

Did actor Roberto De Niro have his driver do his dirty work for him? According to the NY Post, his driver Vladimir Labissiere pepper sprayed a TMZ videographer earlier today at LaGuardia Airport after he had filmed the actor. This took place just before 11 a.m. in the Delta Terminal, but reportedly De Niro had already passed security and didn't witness the incident, which began with some verbal sparring. Labissiere managed to hit not only his target with a dose of the spray, but a passerby as well; he fled the scene immediately and the NYPD are trying to track him down to question him about the incident... which we assume is all on tape and will be hitting TMZ any minute now. more ›

An unapologetic prankster heisted a cop car that was left running and unattended outside a greasy spoon in Morris Park early this morning. The officer didn’t even have time to order his breakfast before realizing the highway patrol vehicle was gone, and with it his loaded rifle. "All of a sudden I see a cop come out of the restaurant running. He was going crazy," said Sammy Obaid, an employee at a deli across the street from the Lydig Coffee House. "He was on the phone, making calls. He was freaked out." more ›

As flying out of Newark Liberty, Kennedy, and La Guardia airports continues to get more and more tedious, some passengers are turning towards smaller airfields where even at busy travel times like the day before Thanksgiving there are "no lines at the check-in counters, no lines to clear security and no lineup of idling planes on the runway," according to the Times. more ›

Sigh: WCBS 2 reports that a passenger who flew into LaGuardia Airport last night "was questioned by FBI agents" because he allegedly boarded the flight with a 4" long, 3/4" wide firecracker: "Officials confirmed Monday that a crew member on board Piedmont Airlines flight 4126 was cleaning the plane after it landed in New York around 7:30 p.m. when he found [the device] wedged between two seats. Port Authority officials contacted FBI agents, and the passenger from that seat location, identified as 67-year-old Thomas Ouelette, of Bonita Springs, Fla., was tracked down and taken into custody." While terrorism is not suspected (at this point!), "Ouelette already had two outstanding warrants in Florida for 'unlawful flight.'" more ›

Technology! The FAA says that a computer glitch has affected its "ability to process flight plans electronically"—which is now resulting in flight delays across the country. more ›

With all the hubbub about Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger making his long-awaited return to the skies after his miraculous splash landing of Flight 1549 by flying from Laguardia to Charlotte, North Carolina this afternoon, it turns out that Sully had to get to NYC some how. And that was by flying Flight 1050 from Charlotte to LGA at 7:55 a.m! The Daily News had a reporter and photographer onboard for the scoop. more ›

The Post, which called war on Canada geese earlier this year after the bird strike that downed US Airways Flight 1549, adds to its list of bird vs. flying machine incidents, reporting that a bird dent the front of a Boeing MD-80 which was landing at Laguardia Airport yesterday. more ›

Police have arrested four men in connection with Monday night's shooting of a man found at LaGuardia Airport. The victim, who is in stable condition, was discovered in the taxi holding area between Terminals C and D. According to NY1, "The suspects picked up Cedric Click, 26, of Las Vegas Monday night at the LaGuardia Marriott in Rodriguez's 2008 silver Pathfinder. Once Click entered the car, the suspects allegedly stole $700 in cash, jewelry and other personal items from him. Click was then shot once in the chest when he tried to escape, according to officials." And the whole incident may stem from...drugs. The suspects—three Brooklyn residents and one from Queens— were charged with "second degree attempted murder, first degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon, first degree robbery and criminal use of a firearm." more ›

Late last night, a man was shot outside the Delta-United terminal. WABC 7 reports that his body was "discovered" around 11:30 p.m. "near the central taxi hold area for yellow cabs, where several taxi drivers rushed to the man's aid. One called 911, while the shooting victim asked for a driver's cell phone." He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital for surgery and is expected to survive. MyFoxNY says that cops suspect "the victim may have been shot inside a vehicle or off airport property, and then dumped in front of the terminal"—a silver Pathfinder with three armed men reportedly fled the scene. And according to the Daily News, it was a "drug deal gone bad." more ›

Scott McGann, the 32-year-old who caused a lot of chaos at Laguardia Airport a few weeks ago, was found mentally unfit to be arraigned and was instead "remanded into the custody of the New York State of Mental Health's office, where he will be held for a period of one year or until he regains competency," according to Newsday. On August 1, a United ticket agent alert Port Authority officers to McGann, who seemed out of it and inebriated; the officers were suspicious of the wires coming from his bag and detonator-like device, so they tackled him and the airport's terminal was shut down. It was later revealed his bag had papers that suggested McGann was building a time machine (there were "drawings of a bald man's head, with the words 'Age at 17' above him and the phrases 'John Doe' and 'Lifespan 35 years' below him," as well as "a downward arrow pointing at the word 'Time,' several other arrows pointing at the words 'Dimension 1,' 'Dimension 2,' and 'Dimension 3'"). McGann allegedly suffers from catatonic schizophrenia; Queens DA Richard Brown said, "The defendant is clearly a very troubled young man. Under the circumstances, the court's decision is the right one for all concerned." more ›

Scott McGann, the man who allegedly brought a fake bomb (made of batteries and wires) to Laguardia Airport last Saturday and caused a lot of chaos, was indicted on charges of placing a false bomb and making a terrorist threat. He is currently being held at the psych ward at Bellevue, but the Daily News reports, "He will be arraigned Aug. 18 if he's found mentally competent. His family says he suffers from catatonic schizophrenia." more ›

The mother of the man accused of essentially shutting down LaGuardia Airport Saturday morning with his fake bomb spoke to the Daily News. Margie Jones said her 32-year-old son Scott McGann has catatonic schizophrenia, which the News says "leaves victims in a psychotic state where they're unable to speak, respond or even move." She added, "He's a not a kook. more ›

Thousands of people planning on traveling out of Laguardia Airport yesterday morning had their plans changed when a man was found with a fake bomb in his bag, prompting the evacuation of the central terminal. The NY Times reports, "passengers who had arrived for early-morning flights were forced to evacuate for nearly three hours, creating a domino effect of car and foot traffic that caused chaos during one of the busier travel days of the summer." And a 32-year-old man was arrested for allegedly causing the mess. more ›