Connecting at New York LaGuardia airport

Connection time calculator, immigration and security, and how to move between terminals at LGA.

How connections work at LGA

At New York LaGuardia airport, as at every airport in the United States, passengers arriving on an international flight must clear immigration (CBP) and customs, collect their checked bags and re-check them, and go through TSA security again before their connecting flight, even when both flights are on the same ticket.

The airport has 3 terminals or concourses (Terminal A, Terminal B, Terminal C). They are not connected after security: changing means going through security again.

Connecting passengers go through a transfer security screening.

Connection time calculator

Is your layover at LGA long enough? Pick your connection and get an estimate with the times of this airport.

Terminals / concourses: Terminal A, Terminal B, Terminal C

Getting between them: Free LaGuardia Link shuttle bus between terminals (landside), 24 hours, every 8 to 10 minutes at peak times and every 15 minutes off-peak; walkway between Terminals B and C

None of the terminals are connected airside. Within a terminal you can walk between concourses without clearing security again. Terminals B and C are next to each other and linked landside by a walkway; Terminal A is about a mile away.

There is no internal airside passport control. Arriving international passengers clear U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on arrival.

  • Changing terminals means leaving security, taking the shuttle (or walking between B and C) and clearing TSA again: allow extra time, traffic can be heavy.
  • If both flights are on the same airline you usually stay in the terminal you arrived in.
  • Walking from security to the farthest gates takes up to about 10 minutes in Terminals B and C.

Estimate based on typical times at this airport, not your airline's official minimum connection time. Immigration and security lines change with the time of day and season. On a single ticket, the airline must rebook you if you miss the connection; on separate tickets, it does not.

Sources: upgradedpoints.com.

Times are estimates: always check with your airline.

TSA security wait times

Estimated wait at the security checkpoints of LGA right now. When live data is not available, it shows historical averages.

More about LGA

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