The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has reported a record-breaking month for its commercial airports, with September 2024 marking the busiest September ever recorded. The airports welcomed approximately 11.9 million passengers, surpassing the previous record set in September 2023 by over 100,000 passengers. This surge positions the year on track to become the busiest in history for these airports.
From January through September, about 109.7 million passengers utilized the agency’s airports, an increase of approximately 1.5 million from the same period in 2023. Despite a seasonal decline of 11 percent from August, attributed to the end of summer travel, growth remains robust.
The PATH commuter rail system also saw significant increases in ridership during September 2024. The total number of passengers reached 5.12 million, setting a post-pandemic high and representing a 16 percent increase from September 2023. Average weekday ridership surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time since February 2020, reaching over 200,000 riders per day.
Weekend ridership also showed strong performance with average Saturday figures exceeding those of pre-pandemic levels by about two percent and Sunday ridership only three percent below pre-pandemic averages.
In maritime activity, the Port of New York and New Jersey experienced its second-busiest September ever recorded, handling a total of 779,388 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). This marked seven consecutive months where more than 700,000 TEUs were handled each month. The port remains the nation’s second-busiest gateway for loaded cargo with substantial year-over-year growth; an increase of eighteen percent over September last year and twenty-five percent compared to pre-pandemic figures in September 2019.
The Port Authority's vehicular crossings continued at strong levels comparable to both last year and pre-pandemic benchmarks. In September alone, about ten point two million eastbound vehicles crossed through six major tunnels and bridges under its jurisdiction.
