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Kennedy Airport saw a record 63.3 million passengers in 2024, a...

Kennedy Airport saw a record 63.3 million passengers in 2024, a 2% increase from the previous year, according to the Port Authority. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp

The Port Authority's four metropolitan area airports saw a record number of travelers in 2024, with a total of 145.9 million air passengers at Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark-Liberty and Stewart International, the agency said.

Christmas-New Year's holiday and international travelers surpassed pre-pandemic records set in 2019, buoying the numbers, the Port Authority said.

In a statement released Wednesday, the Port Authority said Kennedy saw a 2% increase in travelers, LaGuardia 4% and Stewart, located in Orange County, a whopping 9%. Numbers at Newark-Liberty were equal to those in 2023.

Port Authority Chairman Kevin O'Toole attributed the increase to $30 billion in recent airport upgrades and redevelopments, the statement said.

"This record number of travelers signifies a full post-pandemic recovery and highlights the success we've seen modernizing the region's airports into world-class gateways," O'Toole said in the statement.

According to statistics released by the Port Authority, Kennedy serviced 63.3 million passengers in 2023, while Newark-Liberty saw 48.9 million, LaGuardia 33.5 million and Stewart 277,000.

The number of international passengers serviced by those airports — 52.3 million in 2024 — exceeded the 2019 pre-pandemic record of 50.9 million, the agency said in the statement. In 2024, Kennedy saw 63.3 million passengers; LaGuardia had 335 million travelers; Newark 48.9 million; and Stewart 277,000.

LaGuardia had 33.5 million travelers in 2024, a 4% increase from...

LaGuardia had 33.5 million travelers in 2024, a 4% increase from the previous year, the Port Authority said. Credit: Joseph Sperber

The Port Authority noted that for the second consecutive year Kennedy was named best airport in North America in Business Traveller magazine's annual reader survey.

LaGuardia earned a Skytrax 5-star rating in 2023 and in 2024 was named the best U.S. Airport by the Forbes Travel Guide. The Skytrax rating for LaGuardia was first-ever awarded for an airport terminal in the United States.

December saw 12.5 million passengers travel through the four airports, a 5% increase over what was a record December in 2023.

And between Dec. 21 and Jan. 2, 5.5 million passengers used Port Authority airports, making it the busiest Christmas / New Year holiday travel period on record — a 7% jump over 2023.

"A second consecutive record-breaking year, along with record-breaking international travel, is extraordinary," Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said in the statement Wednesday.

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          'I had to keep my mouth shut'  Ronnie Tanner, a horse jockey in the '60s and '70s, and Kendrick Carmouche, a current jockey, spoke about the racism Black jockeys have faced. NewsdayTV's Jamie Stuart reports.

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