New York’s airport traffic is still down 77 percent compared to this time last year due to COVID-19 — and it’s costing the Port Authority dearly.
The authority expects to have lost $1.7 billion in revenue by the end of the year, executive director Rick Cotton said Thursday.
Any financial benefits of a busier holiday season will likely be canceled out by a surge in coronavirus cases, he warned.
“The unknown is the extent to which the surge of virus cases and the accompanying publicity, literally across the country, tamps down what would otherwise be an uptick in holiday travel,” Cotton said.
“The low level of utilization is likely to continue for some period of time.”
The latest air traffic figures come from data recorded between Nov. 9 to 13.
Bridge and toll crossings, meanwhile, remain 14 percent below pre-pandemic levels.
To close the budget gap, the Port Authority has instituted a hiring freeze, eliminated over 600 positions and cut spending by 15 percent.
The Port Authority has asked Congress for a $3 billion bailout. Without it, billions of dollars of construction projects are in jeopardy, Cotton said.
Toll hikes or service cuts like those proposed for New York’s MTA are not on the table, however, officials said.
“There’s been no consideration of fee increases, toll increase. That’s not been contemplated,” PA chairman Kevin O’Toole said.
