BY REBECCA SHEEHAN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The tri-state area houses three very active and crowded airports in the whole nation, and offers its residents an option on which one to use for all of their traveling needs.  But when it comes to the basic amenities for travelers the trio, JFK, La Guardia International and Newark Liberty International, all came up short in four categories: Free Wi-Fi access for passengers, rail connection to the nearby city center, play areas for kids, and cell-phone waiting lots for those waiting to pick up incoming passengers.

According to the Global Gateway Alliance, which lobbies for improvements to the airports, both Newark Liberty International and La Guardia fell very short in the survey, that is, at the very bottom, which ranked the comforts of the 20 busiest airports in the country.

La Guardia was rated the worst out of all 20 containing not one of the four amenities listed, while Newark, which offers only a rail connection that requires changing trains to New York, was ranked 19th. JFK was only lacking free Wi-Fi access for passengers, eventhough it was recently named the best airport in the Americas by the website Frequent Business Traveler.

“Anyone who uses our airports knows that they are way behind the best in the nation, when it comes to customer service and 21st Century amenities,” said Joe Sitt, the chairman of the alliance and CEO of Thor Equities to the Associated Press. “As delays and security lines mean people have to spend more time at the airport, some simple fixes like free Wi-Fi for busy business travelers and play areas for families are just basic quality of life necessities.”

“The agency is planning new terminals at LaGuardia and Newark Liberty,” said Ron Marsico, a Port Authority spokesman, “exploring a direct PATH rail link to Newark Liberty and reviewing its existing Wi-Fi contract to see if changes can be made.”