Newark Liberty International Airport has been described many ways in its 96 years. But it has probably not been called world class, at least not recently.

In fact, the airport has a longstanding reputation as one of the least appealing transportation hubs in the United States. But on Thursday, officials from the agency that runs it said they intended to take New Jersey’s largest airport “from worst to best.”

Their unveiling of a “vision plan” for the transformation of the airport was light on details. The officials from the agency, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, did not know how much it would cost or how long it would take.

But the officials made the announcement inside the airport’s massive Terminal A, which opened at Newark Liberty two years ago at a cost of $2.7 billion. That award-winning terminal, along with two new terminals at nearby La Guardia Airport in New York City, set the standard for what the entire airport in Newark could be, the officials said.

The transformation of Newark Liberty will include replacing the most dilapidated of the airport’s three terminals — the 51-year-old Terminal B, which has in part relied for years on portable toilets — and the rickety AirTrain that connects the terminals to parking lots and commuter trains. Someday, it may also include replacing Terminal C, a major United Airlines hub, they said.