New York’s much-criticised LaGuardia airport is to be rebuilt.
The redesign of the domestic airport will double the space available for aircraft to operate.
Work is due to start next year, with the first redesigned section of the airport expected open to passengers in 2019.
The first phase of the plan will cost $4 billion with Delta Air Lines contributing part of the costs of one of the planned new terminals.
The project to rebuild the airport, which handled 27 million passengers last year, is due to be completed by 2021.
Nearly two miles of new taxiways will be created under the plan, which will make landings easier for pilots, according to reports.
Vice president Joe Biden – who previously compared the airport to “some Third World country” – was on hand for yesterday’s announcement.
“I wish everything I said that was truthful but controversial would turn out this well,” Biden said.
The airport, which sits along the East River in Queens, is frequently ranked as one of the worst in the US, according to customer surveys.