2 New York airports now have the only 5-star terminals in North America — just 5 years after JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark were ranked the worst in the US

• Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK were ranked as the country's worst airports back in 2018.
• A $30 billion plan to upgrade the major New York and New Jersey airports has turned things around.

Two New York City-area airports are the only ones in North America with terminals rated five stars by Skytrax — and all it took was billions of dollars.

LaGuardia, Newark, and JFK used to be ranked among the country's worst airports. In 2018, travel news site The Points Guy ranked them as the three worst airports in the US. It based its ranking on amenities, accessibility, and timeliness.

But now, LaGuardia and Newark have been bestowed a rare badge of honor.

As a sign of how prestigious the Skytrax ranking can be, only 10 airlines are rated five stars, and they're all based in Asia.

When it comes to airports, Skytrax has three categories: hub airports, regional airports, and terminals. Of the 12 five star rated airports in the first category, three are in Europe, and the other nine are in Asia.

Houston William P. Hobby Airport makes the seven-strong list for regional airports — the only one in the US.

But only four terminals have been given five stars, including Newark's Terminal A and LaGuardia's Terminal B. The other two are at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Guangzhou Baiyun.

Skytrax says the rating is based on "exceptional standards of facilities and staff service to customers across all front-line areas of the airport environment."

So how did the turnaround happen? The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is in the midst of a $30 billion redevelopment of the three major airports it oversees.

$2.7 billion of that was spent upgrading the Newark Terminal, while $8 billion and six years were spent transforming LaGuardia.

And it might not be long before JFK Airport starts vying for a five-star rating as well. It's undergoing a $19 billion upgrade, which includes creating two new terminals and expanding existing ones.