AirTrain fare will be 50 percent off this summer to encourage travelers to use public transit during peak construction at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The single ride fare will be reduced to $4.25 starting on June 30 through Labor Day, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced on Tuesday. With record-breaking travel expected and a $19 billion redevelopment underway, significant congestion around the airport is anticipated.
“As we head into a busy summer construction period in our $19 billion effort to build a new JFK International with record traveler volumes, we are once again asking travelers to leave their cars at home and take public transit to the airport,” PANYNJ Chairman Kevin O’Toole said.
“The discounted AirTrain fare is one of a multitude of steps we’re taking to move passengers to and from JFK as quickly and reliably as possible. Yes, there will be some temporary inconvenience. But it’s all part of building an airport our region can be proud of — for decades to come.”
The half-price AirTrain fare of $4.25 applies at the Jamaica and Howard Beach stations, the two off-airport stops that require payment via OMNY or MetroCard. Jamaica Station offers convenient access to JFK, just 20 minutes from Grand Central Madison, Penn Station, or Atlantic Terminal on the Long Island Rail Road.
Subway riders can also reach the AirTrain via the A, E, J, and Z lines at the Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport and Howard Beach stations.
Ride-share pickups at Terminal 4 have been relocated. From 12 p.m. to 4 a.m., services like Uber and Lyft must now be ordered to the Lot 66 Ride App & Car Services Pickup area. Free shuttle buses will run from Terminal 4’s arrival level to the lot every 1-2 minutes.
At all times, for-hire vehicle pickups at Terminals 5 and 7 will take place in a designated lot near the AirTrain JFK Howard Beach station, accessible via the free on-airport AirTrain. Passengers being dropped off or picked up by friends or family should use the free waiting lot at the AirTrain’s Lefferts Boulevard station, where travel to and from airport terminals is free.
Passengers being dropped off at the terminals should allow for potential traffic delays and arrive at least three hours early. Parking is very limited, so visitors are encouraged to pre-book a space.
The initiative aims to reduce congestion at JFK, which the Port Authority says will have another record-breaking summer for air travel. An estimated 300,000 additional passengers are projected this season, on top of the 700,000 increase seen last year, bringing the airport’s summer traffic up by one million over the two years construction has been at its peak.
JFK’s $19 billion redevelopment, known as the “JFK Vision Plan,” was unveiled in January 2017 and aims to transform the international airport. At the heart of the plan is the new $9.5 billion all-international New Terminal One (NTO), which broke ground in September 2022 and is being designed by AECOM Tishman and Gensler.
Other components include the $1.5 billion expansion of Terminal 4, led by Delta and JFK, the $425 million expansion of Terminal 8, led by American Airlines, and the construction of Terminal 6—a new 1.2 million-square-foot terminal that was the final piece of the Vision Plan to break ground.
In 2024, the city’s airports saw their busiest year ever, for the second consecutive year. According to the Port Authority, JFK, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International, and NY Stewart International served a record 149.9 million passengers in 2024, surpassing the 143.8 million travelers in 2023, as 6sqft previously reported.
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