Port Authority Airports Keep Soaring, Recording Busiest January Ever

[By: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today announced that its commercial airports picked up where they left off, opening the year by recording their busiest January ever after closing a record-breaking 2024. The PATH commuter rail maintained strong year-over-year growth while eclipsing pre-pandemic ridership levels on weekends. The Port of New York and New Jersey saw its strongest start to the year since the pandemic, moving 8 percent more TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in January 2025 than in January 2024, while the agency’s bridges and tunnels maintained strong performance on par with 2024 and pre-pandemic 2019.  

Airports: 
The Port Authority’s commercial airports recorded their busiest January ever in January 2025, picking up where they left off after notching their busiest year ever in 2024. In January 2025, the agency’s commercial airports welcomed approximately 10.7 million passengers. This was a jump of over 180,000 passengers compared to the previous record for the month set in 2020. January 2025’s total was a 3.5 percent jump from January 2024.  

The growth was driven by increases in both domestic and international travel. Both saw jumps of 3.5 percent compared to January 2024. January 2025’s total was a 15 percent decrease from December 2024 as the airports’ record-breaking holiday travel season came to a close. 

PATH Commuter Rail: 
The PATH commuter rail system continued its strong growth in January 2025, serving 4.5 million passengers. It was a robust 11 percent increase from January 2024 and reached 70 percent of January 2019 levels. 

Weekday ridership averaged 178,195 passengers, up 10 percent from the previous year. Weekend travel remained especially strong, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Average Saturday ridership rose to 91,540 passengers, 9 percent higher than January 2019. Sunday ridership reached 64,768 passengers, a 4 percent increase from 2019. 

Ridership declined 6 percent from December 2024 to January 2025, reflecting typical seasonal trends. 

Port of New York and New Jersey: 
The Port of New York and New Jersey saw its busiest start to the year since the pandemic cargo surge, and its third busiest January ever. The port moved 720,747 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in January 2025. This was an 8 percent increase over January 2024’s total and a 16 percent increase over pre-pandemic January 2019. Volumes rose 5 percent from December 2024 to January 2025. The port continued its status as the busiest on the East Coast and among the top three busiest in the country. 

Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals: 
The agency’s six vehicular crossings served approximately 9.2 million eastbound vehicles in January 2025. The volume was 0.6 percent under January 2024 levels and 0.2 percent under pre-pandemic January 2019 levels. January 2025 traffic volumes by crossing will be available here by the end of March following the normal, detailed reconciliation period to ensure data accuracy, which typically takes approximately six to eight weeks after the last day of the month. December volumes were posted on Feb. 25.