Exclusive: First look at LaGuardia Airport's brand new Terminal B

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Saturday, June 13, 2020
Exclusive look at LaGuardia Airport's brand new Terminal B set to open Saturday
Eyewitness News gets an exclusive look at LaGuardia Airport's brand new Terminal B and the technology that promises to help keep flights on time.

QUEENS, New York (WABC) -- Eyewitness News gets an exclusive look at LaGuardia Airport's brand new Terminal B and the technology that promises to help keep flights on time.

It may be the most consequential on-time arrival in half a century.

A place filled with light and art and built on a goal as lofty as its soaring ceiling.

Starting this weekend, the centerpiece of the new LaGuardia Airport will come to life in a giant new terminal serving four airlines.

Stewart Steeves runs the company that envisioned Terminal B.

"A lot of thought and attention has been made to making the passenger journey simple and efficient," Steeves said.

Forget the decrepit, sad terminal it now replaces. The new Terminal B offers every creature comfort you can imagine.

But for true frequent flyers, it's what you don't see that'll affect you the most.

The real story of this design can be seen in the walkway that leads to the gates.

It's breathtaking to look at, but it's groundbreaking in two key ways.

First, they built this terminal literally on top of the old one, which allowed it to run during construction.

But more importantly, after the old terminal gets demolished a whole new taxiway will be built.

Engineer Michael Luey explained how the new, first-of-its-kind taxiway will give planes more room to maneuver, and it will be monitored in a high tech control room where they'll use virtual reality to guide every aspect of your trip.

Everything, from the lines at security to the location of every cleaning crew.

It will even monitor the real-time conditions of the bathrooms, which look like they belong in a hotel.

"I don't think we can promise utopia every day, but we can make it a lot better," Steeves said.

Utopia is a word no one would dream of using to describe the old Terminal B, a dark warren of hallways built nearly 60 years ago and known more for delays, lost luggage and terrible coffee.

But on Saturday morning, finally ... a world-class welcome to the world's greatest city.