The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that its commercial airports recorded their busiest May ever, driven by record travel volume around Memorial Day. The Port of New York and New Jersey led the nation in cargo volume, marking its third consecutive month above 700,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). The PATH commuter rail experienced its highest monthly ridership since the onset of the pandemic, surpassing five million passengers. Vehicular crossings continued to meet or exceed strong benchmarks from 2023 and pre-pandemic levels.
In May 2024, approximately 13 million passengers traveled through the region’s commercial airports. This was an increase of about 74,000 passengers from the previous May record set in 2023. International passenger volume also rose by 7 percent compared to May 2023, with Rome, London, and Paris being the most popular destinations.
From May 23 to May 27, over 2.2 million air travelers passed through the Port Authority’s commercial airports during the Memorial Day holiday period. This surpassed the previous Memorial Day travel record set in 2023 by about 45,000 passengers.
About 57.6 million passengers used the region’s commercial airports during the first five months of this year. This total outpaced the same period in 2023 when a record was previously set.
The Port of New York and New Jersey handled 790,758 TEUs in May, a significant increase from both May 2023 and May 2019 figures. This marked six consecutive months of year-over-year volume growth for the port and three consecutive months with container volumes exceeding 700,000 TEUs.
May's substantial cargo total contributed to making it the nation's busiest cargo gateway for that month and positioned it as the second-busiest cargo port in America through the first five months of this year.
PATH commuter rail served nearly 5.1 million passengers in May—its highest monthly total since early in the pandemic era—reflecting a rise from both October last year and May prior year numbers.
Average weekday ridership on PATH reached new post-pandemic highs at nearly193 thousand passengers per day—a notable increase from previous records while approaching two-thirds of pre-pandemic figures from May2019.
Weekend ridership approached pre-pandemic levels with average Saturday ridership at94 percent and Sunday ridership at98 percent compared to those levels from2019
The Port Authority’s vehicular crossings recorded about10 point7million eastbound vehicles duringMay consistent with volumes seen last year pre-pandemic Traffic increased slightly between April-May
Through first half-year traffic remains stable compared to last year's similar periods
