Coronavirus Still Impacting Travel At NJ And NY Airports, PATH

NEWARK, NJ — Airports in New Jersey and New York are still seeing big drops in passenger volume due to the coronavirus pandemic. But vehicle traffic at crossings such as the Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge has taken less of a hit so far in 2021, officials say.

On Tuesday, the Port Authority released last month’s travel statistics for its airports, bridges and tunnels, PATH train and seaport, comparing them to pre-pandemic totals from January 2019.

The conclusion? COVID-19 continues to put the hurt on passenger volumes throughout the two states, officials said.

“The Port Authority has estimated that these pandemic-related volume drops will result in a revenue loss of approximately $3 billion for the 24-month period beginning in March 2020,” officials said.

The bistate agency continues to advocate in Washington, D.C. to secure federal funding to offset the steep revenue decline, officials said.

• See related article: Port Authority Faces Huge COVID Cash Crunch, Seeks Short-Term Fix
• See related article: $50 Fine For No Masks At Port Authority Airports, PATH Stations

There is a bright spot to the latest round of data, however, according to the Port Authority: its seaport. The Port of New York and New Jersey continued to “demonstrate resilience” and ended January 2021 with an increase of 16 percent from January 2019, officials said.

Updated statistics follow below.

Airports - January 2021 passenger volumes were down an estimated 73 percent across the Port Authority’s airports compared to January 2019 pre-COVID volumes.

PATH – The PATH reported a January 2021 average weekday ridership of 56,903 riders, down 79 percent from January 2019.

Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals - The Port Authority’s four bridges and two tunnels handled a total of 8.3 million vehicles in January 2021, a decrease of 10.6 percent compared to January 2019. Automobile traffic was down 10.4 percent, and truck traffic declined 1.3 percent in January 2021 compared to January 2019.

Port - The Port of New York and New Jersey moved 721,284 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) in January 2021, up 16 percent from January 2019.

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