No more drinks and sandwiches at exorbitant prices: authorities have limited food prices at New York airports

Most travelers have at least one story where they paid a decent amount of money for a stale sandwich or watered down cocktail at the airport. But the $27 beer appeared to be the boiling point, and New York authorities decided to draw a line, reports The points guy.

The agency that controls New York's three major airports is struggling with sky-high food and drink prices. An investigation by the New York and New Jersey Airports Authority found that some types of beer and food in the terminals were sold at completely unjustified prices.

How outrageous were the prices

How about $27,85 for a Sam Adams Summer Ale? Or $11 for a serving of french fries and $4 for a small orange juice?

The Port Authority conducted a months-long investigation into the alleged price gouging. The agency's report concluded that the OTG provider violated the street pricing policy by adding a surcharge to an already inflated base price. OTG operates at three New York airports (JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty) and hundreds of other airports throughout the United States.

The Port Authority says it has implemented new pricing standards for concessions at three airports in New York and New Jersey. They set marginal prices for food and drink at so-called local street prices. The new policy allows for a maximum surcharge of 10%. Part of the problem was that previous street pricing policies weren't specific enough for merchants. The changes seem to fix this issue.

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“All airport customers rightly expect that policies that limit food and beverage prices will be enforced,” The Port Authority Chairman Kevin O'Toole said in a statement. No one should pay that much for a beer. The new compliance measures announced today by the Department of Aviation make it abundantly clear that all concession prices will be monitored on a regular basis.”

Cafes and restaurants at airports should also offer customers less expensive food and drinks.

It all started with a viral tweet in July 2021 from a customer who couldn't believe the beer prices at LaGuardia Airport.

Before long, New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. also called prices obscene for concessions at Newark Liberty Airport. Payne said $11 fries and $20 beer are an insult to travelers.

“To put it simply: the journey is stressful,” Payne wrote in a letter to The Port Authority. “Cheating at a bar for a bottle of beer? This is not how we should greet or see off our guests.”

The Port Authority encourages anyone traveling from the region's three major airports to report any suspicion of price gouging through the agency's social media.