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Newark Airport’s new Terminal A has been handed a coveted travel industry award for its “world class quality.”
The shock honor comes as the dated transit hub — consistently in the running for the title of worst in the nation — stages a multi-phased comeback that will take years.
The reinvented terminal —the largest Port Authority investment ever in New Jersey, at $2.7 billion — was awarded the coveted five-star rating by reputable industry ratings firm Skytrax.
There are just 22 airport facilities in the world considered deserving of the top tier designation — Newark’s Terminal A is one of two in the New York region.
The other is LaGuardia Airport’s rebuilt Terminal B — a $4 billion project that has changed the way travelers experience a facility once derided as “third world” by President Biden.
“Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport provides an excellent range of passenger facilities, easy customer wayfinding, excellent signage and high standards of staff service,” said Edward Plaisted of Skytrax.
Specifically, it has been lauded for a mix of digital technology, a wide array of dining and retail, plus a children’s play area and local artwork thrown into the works.
The airport area, one of three, also features a sensory room for passengers to escape from the bustling, one-million-square-foot terminal.
“The outstanding multimedia features offer a unique, differentiating factor here at Terminal A,” he added.
Since opening last year, Terminal A has hosted 15 million passengers in its extensive halls.
That number is “greatly outperforming yearly passenger totals” of the space before the major renovation.
