Port Authority Announces New Airport Passenger Record

On Mar 28, 2024

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that the agency’s commercial airports set a new February record for total passenger activity. Additionally, The Port of New York and New Jersey notched its second-busiest February of all time, while traffic at the agency’s six vehicular crossings remained at robust levels by outpacing both 2023 and pre-pandemic benchmarks. The PATH commuter rail saw a significant ridership bump from February last year. Usage across the agency’s facilities was boosted by the leap day observed in February 2024.

Airports:

February 2024 marked the busiest February on record for the Port Authority’s commercial airports. New monthly total passenger records have now been set across six of the last seven months at the region’s airports.

Just over 10 million passengers were welcomed across the agency’s commercial airports in February 2024. This was an increase of 3% over the previous record set in February 2020, and a jump of 4% from February 2023. Growth was driven by continued demand for international travel. International passenger volume in February 2024 jumped 13% compared to February 2023.

The Port Authority’s commercial airports have served 20.3 million passengers through the first two months of the year. This is a 3% increase from the same period in 2023, outpacing what was the busiest year ever for the agency’s airports.

February’s passenger volume declined 3% from January’s, reflecting the usual decline in passenger traffic seen during February.

Port of New York and New Jersey:

February 2024 marked the second-busiest February of all time at the Port of New York and New Jersey, surpassed only by the pandemic-driven cargo surge in February 2022. February 2024’s total volume of 632,455 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) jumped 11% from February 2023 and increased 8% from pre-pandemic February 2019. The robust cargo activity in February 2024 came amid resilient consumer spending and restocking efforts by major retailers. February marked the third consecutive month of year-over-year growth for the port.

The Port of New York and New Jersey was the second busiest in the nation for loaded imports and exports in February 2024. Through the month, the port brought in 433,877 loaded TEUs.

Year-to-date, the port is outpacing volumes from both the prior year and pre-pandemic 2019. The port handled 1.3 million TEUs through the first two months of 2024. This was a 7% increase from the same point in 2023, and an 8% jump from pre-pandemic 2019.

Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals:

The agency’s six vehicular crossings recorded 9.1 million eastbound crossings in February 2024. This was an increase of 5% over pre-pandemic February 2019 and a jump of 2% over February 2023. Average daily traffic volumes in February 2024 were consistent with February 2023, and February 2019. Average daily volumes grew 5% between January 2024 and February 2024.

PATH Commuter Rail:

The PATH commuter rail maintained its consistent year-over-year growth, welcoming 4.1 million passengers in February 2024. This was an 18% increase from February 2023. It was 68% of February 2019’s total ridership, marking the system’s best post-pandemic monthly performance relative to 2019. February 2024’s total ridership was on par with the previous month.

The system’s average weekday ridership also trended higher, at 171,389 in February 2024. This was a jump of 14% compared to February 2023, and a 6% increase from January 2024.

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