NYC airports on track for record year after busiest September ever

New York City-area airports recorded their busiest September ever with 11.9mn passengers, remaining on track for a record year as commercial travel rebounds from the Covid pandemic.The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the year-to-date passenger count through September reached about 109.7mn, according to a Tuesday press release. The total is 1.5mn higher than the same period in what proved to be a record 2023.The recovery in travel is pushing airports nationwide to improve and increase taxiways, gate capacity and aircraft parking to prevent flight delays. Newark Airport, for example, is undertaking a major overhaul of its terminals, air train and parking facilities under the Port Authority’s EWR Vision Plan.The agency, a major issuer of municipal bonds to finance infrastructure, also has its JFK airport embarked on a $19bn renovation plan.The Port Authority also engineered an $8bn reboot of New York’s LaGuardia Airport, once rated one of the worst in the US because of cramped hallways, lack of amenities and flight delays. The facility was recently cited as the best US airport by Forbes.In its press release, the agency also said that the PATH commuter rail had a post-pandemic monthly high of 5.12mn passengers in September. And the Port of New York and New Jersey had its second-busiest September of all time.