NYC’s airports had their busiest year ever in 2023, Port Authority says

Airport travel in New York City is, well, soaring.

The New York metro area’s three major airports had their busiest year ever in 2023, Port Authority officials announced Wednesday.

Roughly 144 million people flew through Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, and John F. Kennedy International airports last year, according to initial estimates by the agency.

That represents a 3% increase from the previous record of 140 million passengers in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Officials attributed the surge of travelers to the redevelopment of outdated terminals at the airports, including LaGuardia’s Terminal B, which opened in 2020 after years of construction. The higher numbers were recorded despite a series of rough weather events that canceled or disrupted flights.

“We are driving the investment of $30 billion of redevelopment work at our airports, and the results are in,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said in a statement. “These extraordinary numbers are a clear testament to the ambitious work we’ve undertaken to modernize our airports.”

All three airports experienced an uptick in travelers last year.

With 49.1 million passengers, Newark recorded the biggest increase — 6% above its last record in 2019. LaGuardia’s new high of 32.5 million passengers was 4% greater than its last record in 2019. JFK’s total of 62.5 million passengers was similar to the airport's total in 2019, though in travel-heavy December 3% more passengers passed through JFK than in December 2019.

“Demand for air travel has not only returned but has surpassed pre-pandemic levels,” said Rick Cotton, Port Authority Executive Director. “We are delighted to provide new world-class facilities to this record-breaking number of travelers.”

Nationally, air travel also increased by significant margins in 2023. Overall passenger trips rose 9%, to nearly 269 million, including a 5% jump in domestic trips and a 15% jump in international trips, according to Airlines Reporting Corp., a Virginia-based company that tracks aviation data.