The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today announced that the agency’s commercial airports soared to new heights over the first half of 2024, recording their busiest January-June first half ever. The period was capped by the busiest June on record for the region’s commercial airports.
The Port of New York and New Jersey cemented its status as the nation’s second-busiest container port for loaded imports and exports, moving over 2.8 million loaded TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in the first six months of the year, while traffic at the Port Authority’s vehicular crossings achieved strong volumes seen in prior years. The PATH commuter rail continued its steady recovery, hitting a post-pandemic high of 70 percent of pre-pandemic ridership levels.
The Port Authority’s commercial airports recorded their busiest first half ever during the first six months of 2024. The agency’s commercial airports welcomed 70.6 million passengers from January through June. This was an increase of over 972,000 passengers from the same period in 2023.
A record 13 million passengers were welcomed at the region’s commercial airports in June. This surpassed the previous June high set in 2018 by about 313,000 passengers. It was an increase of about 482,000 passengers from June 2023.
International travel has driven much of the surge in passenger volume. International passenger volume grew 7 percent from June 2023 to June 2024. It increased 8 percent from the first half of 2023 to the same period in 2024. The most popular foreign destinations in June included Rome, Munich and London.