Maybe Vice President Joe Biden was “plane” right after all.
La Guardia Airport is so dirty and run-down, folks from “Third World countries” would rather catch a flight in their battered homelands than endure the Queens landing strip, Third World immigrants and airport workers told The Post.
“The escalators are broken almost all the time. When it rains, the ceiling leaks and the bathrooms are always dirty,” said Azhar Parvez, a 20-year-old Pakistan native, who works at the airport.
He said his hometown airport — in the bomb-blasted city of Karachi — sure beats La Guardia.
“I’ve traveled from [Karachi] four or five times and I’ve never had a problem. I’d say it’s a better airport,” he said.
Earlier this week, Biden blasted the drab and sprawling Queens airport — while praising Hong Kong’s sleek and modern facilities.
If someone dropped him off blindfolded at La Guardia, he’d assume he was in “some Third World country,” Biden declared.
And that’s not the half of it — the airport is plagued by leaky ceilings, holes in the walls, and mice, those interviewed at the airport said Saturday.
La Guardia is set up a lot like one of Haiti’s bare-bones airports, added Gary, 50, a Haiti-born airport worker.
“One way this is like Port au Prince is there is only one way in and one way out. If something happens, you can’t get in or out [on the roads]. So in that way, it is like a Third World country.”
The Post also discovered water-damaged ceilings and holes in the wall near Terminal B.
“I agree with [Biden] . . . It makes America look bad,” said one Ghana native.
“If there are mice jumping over your feet, I’d say that makes it a Third World airport,” he said.
At least his country acts like it’s trying to clean up its act, he said.
“Airports [in Ghana] are trying to fix and expand. The management here [at La Guardia] say they are trying their best — but it is not good enough. It’s too old, and they have to do something about it,” he said.
The Port Authority knows conditions are bad.
A repair proposal is contained in a 10-year, $27 billion capital plan that includes $8 billion for modernizing the region’s three airports, NBC reported.
A PA spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.Kevin Fasick and Natalie O’Neill