Airports in New York City Can No Longer Overcharge Travelers for Food and Drinks

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New York City has been doing a lot in recent years to improve its three airports—everything from building entire new terminals to modernizing concourses and security checkpoints. But one of the most passenger-friendly changes for airports in New York City was just announced on May 12.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey—which runs LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark airports—announced new price caps for food and drink services in all three airports to prevent concessionaires from gouging travelers. The new policy limits concession prices to the product's “street pricing” outside the airport plus a maximum surcharge of 10 percent, which is meant to compensate for the fact that they face higher operating costs than off-airport dining establishments.

Officials were prompted to review the prices of airport food and drinks last summer after a traveler complained on social media that a concessionaire in LaGuardia Terminal C was charging more than $27 for one seasonal beer. “Nobody should have to fork over such an exorbitant amount for a beer," said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole in a release. As part of its investigation, the agency found “that certain beer prices included an erroneously added surcharge on top of an inflated base price," according to the Port Authority release. Officials made the concessionaire in question refund all customers who had been overcharged for beers in the past.

The new rules, which are spelled out in a 35-page manual for concessionaires, are now “crystal clear,” according to O'Toole, so purveyors of airport food and beverage will have no wiggle room on pricing. "All airport customers and concessionaires should expect tough pro-active enforcement going forward now that these revised standards are in place,” O'Toole said. As part of the enforcement measures, all NYC-area airport dining establishments will have to conduct quarterly price checks of their top 40 items sold and submit the prices for their full inventory every year for officials to approve. The agency will also be conducting random price checks to ensure concessionaires are complying with the new rules.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/airports-in-new-york-city-can-no-longer-overcharge-travelers-for-food-and-drinks