Port Authority Sees Record-Breaking July 2025 in Passenger and Cargo Volumes
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that its commercial airports turned up the heat to their second-busiest July ever in July 2025, welcoming 13.3 million passengers. The Port of New York and New Jersey sailed to its second-busiest July ever, behind only July 2024. The PATH commuter rail system held strongly at 74 percent of pre-pandemic volumes, a 9 percent jump in ridership in July 2025 compared to July 2024. The agency’s vehicular crossings showed strong volume consistent with 2024 and pre-pandemic 2019.
Airports:
July 2025 marked the second-busiest July ever at the Port Authority’s commercial airports, just behind July 2024. The month’s total of 13.3 million was 3 percent below July 2024’s monthly record high of 13.7 million passengers. The decline was largely driven by continued operational limits at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) due to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control staffing and equipment issues. July 2025 also saw a greater number of severe weather events compared to the prior year. EWR’s passenger volume declined 5 percent in July 2025 compared to July 2024, LaGuardia Airport (LGA) declined 4 percent, and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) declined 1 percent.
Over the July Fourth holiday weekend from July 3 to 7, the agency’s airports served 2.2 million passengers. It was the second-busiest total for that holiday travel period at the airports, about 10,000 passengers below the record set in 2024.
From January through July, the agency’s commercial airports welcomed 81.6 million passengers. It is the third-highest total at the agency’s airports over the first seven months of the year, behind 2023 (82.6 million) and 2024 (84.2 million). Much of the year-to-date decline was attributable to FAA challenges at Newark Liberty. Its volume was down 7 percent over the first seven months of the year compared to the same period of 2024. LGA declined 3 percent, while JFK was steady.
Port of New York and New Jersey:
In July 2025, the Port of New York and New Jersey handled 794,268 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), sailing to its second-busiest July ever. The total was 1.5 percent behind July 2024. July 2025’s total was a 19.8 percent increase from July 2019.
From January through July 2025, the Port of New York and New Jersey moved 5,211,550 total TEUs. The figure was a 3.9 percent increase from the same period of 2024 and a 20.1 percent jump from the first seven months of pre-pandemic 2019. The Port of New York and New Jersey continued its strong showing over the first seven months of the year, maintaining its status as the second-busiest U.S. port for loaded TEUs.
PATH Commuter Rail:
Ridership on the PATH commuter rail jumped 9 percent in July 2025 compared to July 2024. The system’s passenger total in July 2025 reached 5.3 million passengers, which was 74 percent of the passenger levels in pre-pandemic July 2019.
The system continues to show growth throughout weekdays and weekends. Average weekday ridership in July 2025 was 202,285 passengers, surpassing 200,000 passengers for a fourth consecutive month and for the sixth time since the pandemic.
Average Saturday ridership in July 2025 was 8 percent above July 2019 levels, while average Sunday ridership was up 4 percent from July 2019.
Over the first seven months of the year, PATH served a total of 34.5 million passengers so far. This was 7 percent higher than the same period of 2024 and was 72 percent of pre-pandemic 2019’s year-to-date total.
Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals:
The agency’s six vehicular crossings served 10.7 million eastbound vehicles during July 2025. This was 0.5 percent above July 2024 levels and 0.2 percent below July 2019 levels.
From January through July, 69.7 million eastbound vehicles were recorded, marking a 0.6 percent decrease from the same period of 2024 when adjusting for that leap year’s extra day, and an essentially flat 0.5 percent decrease from the same period of 2019.