The Port Authority is asking Congress for $3 billion in federal aid after experiencing the “worst downturn in the Port Authority’s recent history.” The agency suffered a $777 million drop in revenues in the first half of the year due to the COVID-19 crisis.
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“This decline was completely driven by revenue losses resulting from the precipitous decline in volumes at the agency’s facilities across the region,” said Executive Director Rick Cotton. When compared to the same period last year, the first half of 2020 has seen:
- 98% decrease in airport traffic
- 94% decrease in PATH ridership
- 64% decrease in bridge/tunnel traffic
The agency is hoping to receive $3 billion in federal aid to “offset the damage that the revenue loss will inflict on the agency’s Capital Plan.” Without this federal aid, the agency says it would “feel the weight of this loss for years to come.”
Throughout the pandemic, the Port Authority has kept all of its facilities operating. However, the drop in ridership/travelers has been the “worst downturn in the Port Authority’s recent history — perhaps in its entire history, and certainly since World War II,” says Cotton.
“Without federal assistance, the Port Authority and the region will be forced to feel the weight of this loss for years to come,” says Chairman Kevin O’Toole.
