LaGuardia Airport has gone from worst to first, according to a new survey.

The New York airport, which before its $8 billion transformation was long derided by air travelers, has been awarded the 2023 Airport Service Quality Award for best airport of 25 to 40 million passengers in North America.

“The experts have spoken. There is no better judge of our new airports than the passengers who use them, which is why the ASQ award for best airport going to LaGuardia is so meaningful,” Port Authority chairman Kevin O’Toole said in a statement.

LaGuardia’s overall passenger satisfaction score came in at 4.24 out of 5 stars, according to the survey – 20% higher than in 2018 when passengers rated it the worst airport on the continent.

The airport saw 32.4 million passengers utilize the facility, breaking its previous record set in 2019.

“Taking LaGuardia Airport from worst to best is now more than just an aspiration, it’s an accomplishment that passengers have recognized as the airport’s transformation is substantially complete,” Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton said.

More than 4,200 passengers participated in the survey of LaGuardia. Passengers were asked to rate all aspects of the journey; ambience, cleanliness, security screening, dining facilities and comfort of gate areas each saw major bumps in public opinion.

In the past five years, overall satisfaction of airports in North America increased just 1%, whereas overall satisfaction of LaGuardia increased by 20% in the same amount of time, according to the survey.

In 2014, then-Vice President Joe Biden famously unloaded on the beleaguered airport, comparing it to a third-world country.

Since its redesign, LaGuardia has raked up numerous awards and accolades, including UNESCO’s Prix Versailles for best new airport and the National Academy of Construction’s Special Achievement Award.