The Port Authority now operates the two highest-class airport terminals in North America, according to a widely used industry ranking.
Yes, really.
The agency announced Tuesday that Newark Liberty International Airport's Terminal A was awarded a prestigious five-star rating by Skytrax, the preeminent industry ratings firm, following a detailed audit of its facilities, operations and provision of customer service.
Completed in 2023, the 1 million-square-foot Terminal A now joins LaGuardia's Terminal B as the only two airport terminals in North America awarded the highest Skytrax rating, the Port Authority said.
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Terminal A, considered the centerpiece of an airport-wide renaissance, opened in phases throughout 2023 as airport operations migrated from the 50-year-old former Terminal A. The $2.7 billion terminal represented both the Port Authority's largest-ever single investment in New Jersey and the state's largest design-build project.
The terminal served 15 million passengers in its first year, greatly outperforming yearly passenger totals from the previous Terminal A, the Port Authority said.
The facility features state-of-the-art passenger amenities, local artwork, a children’s play space, digital technology and dozens of local dining and retail options. Other unique amenities include a sensory room that offers travelers with disabilities and their families a calm space away from the bustle of the airport, and a children’s lending library curated by a local fifth grader.
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“Five stars are reserved for the best of the best, but we expected nothing less for Newark’s Terminal A,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said in a statement. “We set out to raise the bar with Terminal A, from its soaring architecture to its streamlined design to its engaging local art. This stellar evaluation from the aviation industry’s preeminent rating organization proves we’ve accomplished exactly that, giving New Jersey a magnificent gateway that is taking its rightful place among the world’s best.”
The accolade for Newark comes days after LaGuardia Airport, once mocked by now-President Joe Biden for seeming like it belonged to "some third-world country," differentiated itself for the better. A multibillion-dollar makeover of Terminal B there paid off, with a new survey ranking the Queens transit hub as the best airport of its size in the country.
