The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that its commercial airports had a spookily spectacular October, recording their busiest October of all time while outrunning the ghost of 2023 to remain on pace for their busiest year ever. PATH’s ridership numbers were wickedly strong, as the system set new post-pandemic highs both for total monthly riders and average weekday ridership for the second consecutive month, while reaching a new high of 75 percent of pre-pandemic ridership levels. The Port of New York and New Jersey saw few tricks and a lot of treats, surpassing 700,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) handled for the eighth consecutive month, while the agency’s bridges and tunnels achieved their suspensefully good performance by meeting or exceeding pre-pandemic benchmarks.
Airports:
October 2024 marked the busiest October of all time at the Port Authority’s commercial airports. The month’s 12.4 million passengers surpassed October 2023’s total by more than 8,000 passengers. Approximately 4.3 million passengers flew international during the month, marking the busiest October ever for international travel.
For the second year in a row, the Port Authority’s commercial airports are on track for their busiest year ever. Through the first 10 months of 2024, a total of 122.1 million passengers were welcomed at the agency’s airports. This outpaced the same period of 2023 by more than 1.5 million passengers.
Passenger volumes in October 2024 increased 4 percent from September 2024.
PATH Commuter Rail:
The PATH commuter rail reached new post-pandemic highs for total monthly ridership and average weekday ridership for the second consecutive month. PATH welcomed approximately 5.7 million passengers in October 2024. This was the highest total for any month since February 2020. October’s passenger total broke the post-pandemic ridership record set in September 2024 by 11 percent and also surpassed October 2023 by 18 percent. It was 75 percent of October 2019’s passenger total, the system’s best performance to date relative to the same month in 2019.
The system also recorded its highest mark for average weekday riders since the onset of the pandemic. PATH welcomed 211,525 riders on an average October 2024 weekday. This was a 2.4 percent jump from the previous post-pandemic high for the figure set in September 2024 and was an increase of 14 percent over October 2023. October 2024’s average weekday ridership was 71 percent of October 2019’s average weekday ridership.
PATH service attracted more weekend riders this October than during pre-pandemic October 2019. Average Saturday ridership in October 2024 was up 7 percent from October 2019, while average Sunday ridership was up 22 percent.
During the first 10 months of the year, PATH has welcomed approximately 47.6 million passengers, an increase of 14 percent from the same period in 2023.
Port of New York and New Jersey:
In October 2024, the Port of New York and New Jersey handled 704,367 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). It was the eighth consecutive month in which the seaport surpassed 700,000 TEUs handled.
Within the first 10 months of the year, the seaport has handled 7.3 million TEUs. The port’s year-to-date performance so far has outpaced the same period of 2023 by 12 percent and the same period during pre-pandemic 2019 by 17 percent, as shippers showed confidence in the port’s reliability and efficiency amid concerns about a potential labor disruption. Following a three-day labor action, the Port of New York and New Jersey quickly resumed normal operations and discharged all cargo delayed by the work stoppage within a week.
October’s total was a 5 percent decrease from October 2023. It was a 10 percent decrease from September 2024. The month followed the port’s busiest July and second-busiest August and September on record, reflecting shippers’ strategy to move as many goods as possible earlier in the year ahead of any labor action.
Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals:
Approximately 10.6 million New York-bound vehicles used the Port Authority’s six vehicular crossings in October 2024. The total was on par with strong activity recorded in October 2023 and pre-pandemic October 2019. Over the first 10 months of the year, the crossings have been used by approximately 101.9 million New York-bound vehicles. This was consistent with robust volume during the same periods of 2023 and 2019.