Record Passenger and Cargo Volume in January 2020

On Feb 28, 2020

The Port Authority announced that it rang in 2020 at a record-setting pace across all Port Authority transportation facilities, with passenger volumes at its airports and at PATH and cargo shipped via rail establishing record highs for the month of January.  The facility records follow a record-breaking 2019 during which passenger and cargo volumes set new annual records at its airports, seaport, PATH rail system, and Staten Island Bridges system. The record volumes come at a time when the Port Authority is making unprecedented investments in its facilities to bring the region’s infrastructure up to 21st century standards and significantly improve the customer experience.

Airports:

The region’s airports continued their streak of record-breaking months in January, building on a continuous pattern of growth in 2019 at John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia Airport.  The agency’s cumulative total of 10.2 million passengers handled in January broke the previous January record set in 2019 by 1.5 percent.  Monthly individual airport records for January also were set at JFK (4.7 million passengers, up 1.6 percent over previous 2019 record), Newark Liberty (3.4 million passengers, up 1.9 percent over previous 2019 record) and LaGuardia (2.1 million, up 1.5 percent over previous 2019 record).

The Port Authority’s two AirTrain systems – AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark – both set January ridership records in January 2020.  AirTrain JFK handled 1,618,587 riders in January, up 4.9 percent from the previous record for January set in 2019.  And AirTrain Newark handled 794,868 riders setting a January record, up 2.8 percent over the previous record set in 2019.

Port of New York and New Jersey:

The Port of New York and New Jersey handled 617,024 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) in January 2020, the second busiest January on record.  The Port Authority’s ExpressRail system set a monthly record for January, handling 61,415 containers, up over 12 percent compared to the previous January record of 54,705 containers moved by rail in January 2019.

PATH:

PATH set a record for average weekday ridership during the month of January, handling an average 277,234 passengers each weekday in January 2020. In addition, PATH handled 6.62 million passengers, a 2.2 percent increase over the previous record for January set in January 2019. The highest one-day ridership in January was 290,669 passengers on January 29.

Tunnels, Bridges, and Terminals:

The Goethals Bridge also set a new monthly record for January with 1,373,385 eastbound vehicles handled, beating the previous January record of 1,326,867. As a whole, the Staten Island Bridges system also established a record for January reporting a record 2,830,411 vehicles, a 5.9 percent increase over the previous January record set in 2019.

In addition, the Port Authority’s entire bridges and tunnels portfolio – including the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels and the Staten Island Bridges – handled 9.57 million eastbound vehicles in January, the highest January total in 11 years.

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