LaGuardia Airport briefly became traffic hell for travelers

The holiday traffic at LaGuardia Airport got so bad during the pre-Thanksgiving crush Wednesday that passengers said city buses were dumping them outside the grounds.

“#MTA has a Thanksgiving gift for public transpo-loving New Yorkers: M60 SBS buses not going to airport today,” tweeted Julia Vitullo-Martin, who was trying to get to the airport Wednesday morning. “Instead #MTA dropping bewildered passengers at 94th St in Queens. No advice or help fo them on how to get to LaGuardia.”

The bus driver who left them on the opposite side of Grand Central Parkway from the airport was no help, said Vitullo-Martin, who eventually hopped into a cab with a Delta crew member who was also trying to get to LaGuardia.

“Not a word of explanation or help,” she tweeted. “Bus driver made everyone get off & said, when asked, another bus MIGHT come eventually.”

A notice on the MTA website said that M60-SBS, Q48, Q70-SBS, and Q72 buses were all diverted from LaGuardia because of bad traffic that made it impossible to get into the perimeter roads.

LaGuardia has been plagued with terrible traffic ever since the Port Authority and private developers started rebuilding the airport last year.

A Port Authority spokesman acknowledged that LGA is a busy place on Thanksgiving eve with 50 percent more passengers than a typical Wednesday. But agency rep Ron Marsico insisted that, other than one morning hiccup, LGA traffic has been moving.

“With the exception of moderately heavy traffic in the area of Terminal B for about 75 minutes this morning, traffic has been flowing well across the airport today,” Marsico said.

“The numerous actions we’ve taken have improved traffic flow, with additional police officers and enforcement personnel directing traffic, as well as deployment of tow trucks to move disabled vehicles off the road faster.”