LaGuardia Airport parking rates increase Saturday, officials say

To help ease traffic congestion at LaGuardia Airport, the daily rate for parking near terminals will jump to $59 Saturday from the current $39, the Port Authority said Wednesday.

The maximum daily rate at the long-term lot, P10, will remain at $18 “as part of an ongoing holiday promotion,” the authority said in a news release.

The long-term lot will revert to its pre-Thanksgiving rate of $39 on Jan. 1.

“To mitigate roadway congestion for vehicles picking up and dropping off passengers, the first three hours of parking for customers in the hourly Parking Lot 5 are free,” the agency said.

The Port Authority said parking rates would be raised in January at some lots at Kennedy Airport — by $2 to $35 per day — and Newark Liberty Airport — by $6 to $39 a day. Long-term lots at those two airports will remain at $18 per day.

The increases are “designed to manage parking demand in [the] busiest central terminal areas,” the agency said.

LaGuardia has been experiencing traffic snarls for the past six month after work began on a $4 billion replacement for the main passenger terminal.

The Port Authority has been urging people to avoid driving to the airport when possible, and to use some of the bus routes that serve the airport.