NEW YORK. May 3, 2024 (Biz Republic) — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that the agency’s commercial airports continued flying high, welcoming a record 32.4 million passengers in the first quarter of 2024. Last month also marked the second-busiest March on record for the agency’s commercial airports. The Port of New York and New Jersey exceeded two million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) handled during the first three months of the year, a 12 percent increase from the same period last year. Traffic at the agency’s vehicular crossings continued to hit strong pre-COVID levels, and PATH commuter rail saw ridership increases that outpaced the first quarter of 2023 by 12 percent, carrying ridership at 66 percent of pre-COVID levels.
AIRPORTS
A record 32.4 million passengers were welcomed across the agency’s commercial airports in the first quarter of 2024. This was an increase of more than 440,000 passengers compared to the same period in 2023, which had been the busiest year ever at Port Authority airports. Just over 12 million passengers were served across the agency’s airports in March 2024. This marked the agency’s second-busiest March ever.
It was a decrease of about 68,000 passengers compared to March 2023. March 2024’s total was an increase of more than 340,000 passengers from pre-pandemic March 2019. International passenger volume increased 9 percent compared to March 2023 as travelers flocked to Europe, Asia and South America. March 2024’s passenger volume increased 21 percent compared to February 2024, marking the seasonal ramp up in demand around spring break travel.
PORT OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY
The Port of New York and New Jersey was the second-busiest cargo port in the nation during March 2024. It handled 701,648 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) through the month. The total was a 22 percent jump from March 2023, and a 20 percent increase from March 2019. It marked the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year volume growth for the port.
Those numbers contributed to a strong start to the year, surpassing 2 million TEUs as the port moved a total of 2,001,449 TEUs by the end of the first quarter. This was a 12 percent increase from the same period in both 2023 and pre-pandemic 2019. The port was also the nation’s second busiest for loaded TEUs, handling 471,193 loaded TEUs in March 2024. This was a nine percent increase from February 2024, as manufacturing restarted overseas following the Lunar New Year holiday.
TUNNELS, BRIDGES AND TERMINALS
The agency’s six vehicular crossings recorded 10.1 million eastbound crossings in March 2024. This was on par with strong activity seen in both pre-pandemic March 2019 and March 2023. Average daily traffic volumes increased by about 10,000 vehicles from February 2024 to March 2024. Over the first three months of the year, traffic volumes were on par with 2023 and 2 percent higher than 2019.
PATH COMMUTER RAIL
March 2024’s average weekday ridership on the PATH commuter rail was 177,646 passengers. This was a 14 percent increase from March 2023. It was also a 4 percent increase from February 2024, but still remained at 66 percent of pre-COVID levels. Sunday ridership, however, surged to surpass pre-COVID Sunday ridership for the third time since the start of COVID and also jumped 17 percent over February 2024.
The system welcomed 4.5 million passengers through March 2024. The total was a 9 percent jump from March 2023. March 2024’s total ridership was also a 10 percent increase from the prior month. It was 67 percent of March 2019’s total. Through the first quarter of the year, PATH’s total ridership of 12.7 million passengers outpaced ridership during the same period in 2023 by 12 percent.
ABOUT THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a bi-state agency that builds, operates, and maintains many of the most important transportation and trade infrastructure assets in the country. For over a century, the agency’s network of major airports; critical bridges, tunnels and bus terminals; a commuter rail line; and the busiest seaport on the East Coast has been among the most vital in the country – transporting hundreds of millions of people and moving essential goods into and out of the region. The Port Authority also owns and manages the 16-acre World Trade Center campus, which today welcomes tens of thousands of office workers and millions of annual visitors. The agency’s historic $37 billion 10-year capital plan includes unprecedented transformation of the region’s three major airports – LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and JFK – as well as an array of other new and upgraded assets, including the $2 billion renovation of the 90-year-old George Washington Bridge. The Port Authority’s annual budget of $8 billion includes no tax revenue from either the states of New York or New Jersey or from the City of New York. The agency raises the necessary funds for the improvement, construction or acquisition of its facilities primarily on its own credit.
