Although LaGuardia was a large airport for the era in which it was built, it soon became too small.
Starting in 1968 general aviation aircraft were charged heavy fees to operate from LaGuardia during peak hours, driving many LGA operators to airports such as Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey.
The increase in traffic at LaGuardia and safety concerns prompted the closure of nearby Flushing Airport in 1984.
Also in 1984, to further combat overcrowding at LGA, the Port Authority instituted a Sunday-thru-Friday "perimeter rule" banning nonstop flights from LaGuardia to cities more than 1,500 miles (2,400 km) away; at the time, Denver was the only such city with nonstop flights, and it became the only exception to the rule. (
In 1986 Western Airlines hoped to fly 737-300s nonstop to Salt Lake City and unsuccessfully challenged the rule in federal court).
Later, the Port Authority also moved to connect JFK and Newark Airport to regional rail networks with the AirTrain Newark and AirTrain JFK, in an attempt to make these more distant airports competitive with LaGuardia.
In addition to these local regulations, the FAA also limited the number of flights and types of aircraft that could operate at LaGuardia.

LaGuardia's traffic continued to grow.
By 2000, the airport routinely experienced overcrowding delays, many more than an hour long.
That year, Congress passed legislation to revoke the federal traffic limits on LaGuardia by 2007.
The reduced demand for air travel following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City quickly slowed LaGuardia's traffic growth, helping to mitigate the airport's delays.
Ongoing Port Authority investments to renovate the Central Terminal Building and improve the airfield layout have also made the airport's operations more efficient in recent years.

FAA approved Instrument Departure Procedure "Whitestone Climb" and the "Expressway Visual Approach to Runway 31", which both overfly Citi Field.

In late 2006, construction began to replace the Wallace Harrison designed air traffic control tower built in 1962 with a more modern one.
The tower began operations on October 9, 2010.

On August 12, 2009, Delta Air Lines and US Airways announced a landing slot and terminal swap in separate press releases.
Under the swap plan, US Airways would have given Delta 125 operating slot pairs at LaGuardia.
US Airways, in return, would have received 42 operating slot pairs at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., and be granted the authority to begin service from the US to São Paulo, Brazil and Tokyo, Japan.
When the swap plan was complete, Delta Shuttle operations would have moved from the Marine Air Terminal to Terminal C (the present US Airways terminal), and Terminals C and D would have been connected together.
US Airways Shuttle flights would have moved to the Marine Air Terminal, and mainline US Airways flights would have moved to Terminal D (the present Delta terminal).

The United States Department of Transportation announced that they would approve the Delta/US Airways transaction under the condition that they sell slots to other airlines.
Delta and US Airways dropped the slot swap deal in early July 2010 and both airlines filed a court appeal.
In May 2011, both airlines announced that they would resubmit their proposal of the slot swap to the US DOT.
It was tentatively approved by the US DOT on July 21, 2011.
The slot swap received final approval from the US DOT on October 10, 2011.

On December 16, 2011, Delta Air Lines announced plans to open a new domestic hub at LaGuardia Airport.
The investment was the largest single expansion by any carrier at LaGuardia in decades, with flights increasing by more than 60 percent, and destinations by more than 75 percent.
By summer 2013, Delta increased operations to 264 daily flights between LaGuardia and more than 60 cities, more than any other airline at LaGuardia.
Although LaGuardia was a large airport for the era in which it was built, it soon became too small. Starting in 1968 general aviation aircraft were charged heavy fees to operate from LaGuardia during peak hours, driving many LGA operators to airports such as Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey. The increase in traffic at LaGuardia and safety concerns prompted the closure of nearby Flushing Airport in 1984. Also in 1984, to further combat overcrowding at LGA, the Port Authority instituted a Sunday-thru-Friday "perimeter rule" banning nonstop flights from LaGuardia to cities more than 1,500 miles (2,400 km) away; at the time, Denver was the only such city with nonstop flights, and it became the only exception to the rule. (In 1986 Western Airlines hoped to fly 737-300s nonstop to Salt Lake City and unsuccessfully challenged the rule in federal court). Later, the Port Authority also moved to connect JFK and Newark Airport to regional rail networks with the AirTrain Newark and AirTrain JFK, in an attempt to make these more distant airports competitive with LaGuardia. In addition to these local regulations, the FAA also limited the number of flights and types of aircraft that could operate at LaGuardia.
LaGuardia's traffic continued to grow. By 2000, the airport routinely experienced overcrowding delays, many more than an hour long. That year, Congress passed legislation to revoke the federal traffic limits on LaGuardia by 2007. The reduced demand for air travel following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City quickly slowed LaGuardia's traffic growth, helping to mitigate the airport's delays. Ongoing Port Authority investments to renovate the Central Terminal Building and improve the airfield layout have also made the airport's operations more efficient in recent years.
FAA approved Instrument Departure Procedure "Whitestone Climb" and the "Expressway Visual Approach to Runway 31", which both overfly Citi Field.
In late 2006, construction began to replace the Wallace Harrison designed air traffic control tower built in 1962 with a more modern one. The tower began operations on October 9, 2010.
On August 12, 2009, Delta Air Lines and US Airways announced a landing slot and terminal swap in separate press releases. Under the swap plan, US Airways would have given Delta 125 operating slot pairs at LaGuardia. US Airways, in return, would have received 42 operating slot pairs at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., and be granted the authority to begin service from the US to São Paulo, Brazil and Tokyo, Japan. When the swap plan was complete, Delta Shuttle operations would have moved from the Marine Air Terminal to Terminal C (the present US Airways terminal), and Terminals C and D would have been connected together. US Airways Shuttle flights would have moved to the Marine Air Terminal, and mainline US Airways flights would have moved to Terminal D (the present Delta terminal).
The United States Department of Transportation announced that they would approve the Delta/US Airways transaction under the condition that they sell slots to other airlines. Delta and US Airways dropped the slot swap deal in early July 2010 and both airlines filed a court appeal. In May 2011, both airlines announced that they would resubmit their proposal of the slot swap to the US DOT. It was tentatively approved by the US DOT on July 21, 2011. The slot swap received final approval from the US DOT on October 10, 2011.
On December 16, 2011, Delta Air Lines announced plans to open a new domestic hub at LaGuardia Airport. The investment was the largest single expansion by any carrier at LaGuardia in decades, with flights increasing by more than 60 percent, and destinations by more than 75 percent. By summer 2013, Delta increased operations to 264 daily flights between LaGuardia and more than 60 cities, more than any other airline at LaGuardia.
LaGuardia Airport