Metropolitan airports saw record travel in 2019, Port Authority says

A record 140.5 million passengers flew in and out of metropolitan airports in 2019, officials with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Monday.

The all-time high number of passengers served last year at Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International, and New York Stewart International airports — represent a 1.6% increase from the previous record of 138.2 million set in 2018, Port Authority officials said in a statement.

LaGuardia Airport showed the largest increase in 2019 with 31 million passengers, a 3.3% increase from its previous record set in 2018, officials said.

Newark Liberty International Airport, which served 46 million passengers in 2019, a record, saw a 1% spike from 2018, and the number of passengers increased by 1.5% at Kennedy Airport last year, including records for both domestic and international travelers, officials said.

LaGuardia’s uptick in passengers drew praise from Port Authority officials because the airport is in the midst of an $8 billion renovation and there are temporary roadways throughout the facility.

“We have taken aggressive steps in the past year to invest in building new, modern facilities and to upgrade existing legacy infrastructure to handle the record passenger and cargo volumes we continue to experience every year,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said in a statement.

Officials also said there were continued increases in passengers for its AirTrain systems at Kennedy Airport and Newark Liberty International. AirTrain handled nearly 21 million passengers at Kennedy last year and more than 11 million passengers at Newark Liberty International. Both surpassed previous records set in 2018, officials said.