Newark Liberty sees a 12.3 percent surge in passenger volume JetBlue debut, more Continental flights cited Friday, September 01, 2006 BY JOE MALINCONICO Star-Ledger Staff Newark Liberty International Airport handled a record number of passengers over the first six months of this year, even as volume at the region's two other large airports remained pretty much the same. Officials attributed the 12.3 percent surge in air travelers at Newark to the debut of a new airline, JetBlue Airways; the creation of additional international routes by Continental Airlines; and improvements in the region's economy. Advertisement With 17.7 million air passengers from January 1 through June 30, Newark Airport is on pace to surpass its pre-9/11 volume, officials said. In 2000, the airport handled 34.2 million passengers. In contrast to Newark's surge, volume at John F. Kennedy International Airport rose over the first six months of this year by just 1.4 percent to 20 million passengers, while LaGuardia had a slight decline of 0.3 percent to about 13 million air travelers. "Newark has added flights to Germany, India, Spain, the Netherlands," said Anthony Coscia, chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency that runs the three airports. "Newark is truly an international airport." Continental Airlines has seen its passenger load at Newark jump by about 20 percent, to 11.9 million over the first six months of 2006. Meanwhile, JetBlue handled 635,000 travelers in Newark during that time. But the growth at Newark Airport has come with growing pains. In 2005, for example, Newark ranked last among the nation's 33 busiest airports, with just 64.1 percent of its flights landing on time. Also, executives at JetBlue have grumbled about the difficulties in operating on schedule amid the heavy air traffic at Newark. Port Authority officials said efforts to reduce congestion and delays largely will have to rely on the Federal Aviation Administration's redesign of the region's airspace, convincing airlines to reschedule some flights to nonpeak times and use bigger planes, as well as continued terminal and runway improvements. Also, the agency is in the midst of a major addition to Terminal B. Eventually, Coscia said, the Port Authority needs to build a fourth airport in the region to cope with the growing demand for air travel. "You could keep expanding Newark on the ground," he said. "But at some point you can't fit any more planes in the sky." Joe Malinconico may be reached at jmalinconico@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx or (973) 392-4230. Roger & Amanda La France