Port Authority Airports Soar Through Busiest Year Ever as 2024 Becomes Second Consecutive Year to Shatter Annual Totals; Both Thanksgiving and Year-End Holiday Travel Levels Reach New Heights
PATH’s Post-Pandemic Ridership Rolls to Near Recovery on Weekends, Delivers 70 Percent of Pre-Pandemic Annual Ridership
Port of New York and New Jersey Handles 8.7 Million TEUs, Sees Double-Digit Cargo Volume Growth Over 2023
Vehicular Volume at Bridges and Tunnels Drives Strong Performance on Par with Pre-Pandemic Levels
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today announced that its commercial airports soared to new heights, recording their busiest year ever for the second consecutive year while shattering previous holiday travel records. PATH achieved strong growth in 2024, climbing to 70 percent of pre-pandemic ridership levels and nearly matching pre-pandemic activity on weekends. The Port of New York and New Jersey handled 8.7 million TEUs, marking the port’s third-busiest year on record with a strong 11 percent jump from 2023. The agency’s bridges and tunnels maintained robust performance, with volumes matching or exceeding levels recorded in both the prior year and pre-pandemic 2019.
Airports:
The Port Authority’s commercial airports recorded their busiest year ever for the second consecutive year. In 2024, initial estimates show 145.9 million passengers flew through John F. Kennedy International (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA), Newark Liberty International (EWR), and New York Stewart International (SWF) airports. The total surpassed the previous record of 143.8 million set in 2023.
Records were shattered for both the Thanksgiving and year-end holiday travel periods. Over 3.4 million travelers used Port Authority commercial airports from Nov. 25, 2024, to Dec. 2, 2024, which was an 8 percent increase over the prior Thanksgiving record set in 2023. Additionally, over the peak travel period from Dec. 21, 2024, to Jan. 2, 2025, a total of 5.5 million passengers passed through Port Authority airports during the airports’ busiest Christmas/New Year travel period on record. It was a 7 percent jump from the previous high set in 2023.
During November 2024, 11.5 million passengers used the agency’s airports, which was essentially flat compared to levels in November 2023. A quirk of the lateness of the 2024 Thanksgiving holiday travel period led to a slight decrease of 1 percent for the month compared to November 2023 due to the Sunday after Thanksgiving, historically a peak travel day, falling within the month of December. That quirk helped boost the airports’ December levels to its busiest ever, with a total of 12.5 million passengers, a 5 percent jump from the previous December record set in 2023.
PATH Commuter Rail:
The PATH commuter rail system saw strong year-over-year growth in 2024, particularly with recovery of weekend ridership to near pre-pandemic levels. The system welcomed 57.2 million passengers over the year. This was 13 percent higher than 2023’s total and was 70 percent of the total from pre-pandemic 2019.
Weekend ridership in 2024 was especially robust. Saturday and Sunday ridership was 96 percent and 99 percent, respectively, of 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Average weekday ridership in 2024 was 186,120. This was a jump of 13 percent from 2023 and was 65 percent of 2019’s figure.
In November, PATH welcomed 4.8 million passengers, an 11 percent increase compared to November 2023 and 74 percent of November 2019. December saw 4.8 million passengers, which was 15 percent above December 2023 and 74 percent of December 2019.
Port of New York and New Jersey:
The Port of New York and New Jersey marked its third-busiest year ever in 2024, behind only the pandemic-driven annual totals of 2021 and 2022. In 2024, the port handled 8.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). The port’s strong performance was an 11 percent jump over 2023’s total despite shippers’ concerns through much of the year around a potential labor disruption. The heightened cargo levels reflected the industry’s confidence in the Port of New York and New Jersey’s reliability and efficiency as it ended the year as the busiest cargo gateway on the East Coast and among the top three busiest in the U.S. for total TEUs and loaded TEU activity.
November’s TEU total of 718,826 also was a 12 percent jump from November 2023, while December’s total of 688,180 TEUs marked an increase of 9 percent over the prior year. It was the seaport’s second-busiest December ever, behind December 2021.
Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals:
Approximately 122.4 million eastbound vehicles used the Port Authority’s six vehicular crossings in 2024. The total was consistent with robust volume achieved in both 2023 and 2019. The strong trend was maintained in November, which saw about 10.1 million vehicles, and in December, when 10.4 million vehicles were recorded.
