2023 was a busy year for travel as Port Authority reported the record-breaking passenger numbers across NYC’s three airports. Outmatching pre-pandemic totals, 144 million air passengers flew between John F. Kennedy International (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA), and Newark Liberty International (EWR) airports in 2023.
The previous record was set in 2019 with 140 million passengers. This past year’s total is three percent greater than that.
The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise after an intense holiday travel season, making December 2023 the busiest December in Port Authority airport history with 12 million passengers that month alone. Moreover, Sunday, November 26th, 2023 marked the busiest air travel day on record.
NYC airports also saw record shattering numbers for domestic passengers. Divvied up, Newark serviced 35.3 million domestic passengers, LaGuardia serviced 30.6 million, and JFK serviced 29.1 million.
Port Authority credited much of the totals to the recent redevelopments across the airports. For example, Newark’s new Terminal A just passed its one-year anniversary. As for LGA, it opened the new Terminal C in 2022, preceded by Terminal B in 2020.
“We are driving the investment of $30 billion of redevelopment work at our airports, and the results are in: a record-shattering 144 million passengers in 2023,” shared Port Authority Chairman, Kevin O’Toole. “These extraordinary numbers are a clear testament to the ambitious work we’ve undertaken to modernize our airports, giving passengers a streamlined, comfortable, and 21st century travel experience no matter which airport they choose.”
Passengers can look forward to further developments at NYC airports including JFK’s completion of its $9.5 billion state-of-the-art New Terminal One that started construction in 2022. Not to mention a new $4.6 billion Terminal 6 and $1.5 billion expansion of Terminal 4. Plus, the replacement of Newark’s AirTrain system.
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