Tap-and-go payments to be accepted at 'selected' fare gates for AirTrain to Kennedy

Tap-and-go payment for the AirTrain to and from Kennedy Airport will start supplementing MetroCards on “selected” fare gates starting Tuesday — but the technology won’t be available everywhere until the end of next year, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced.

At the “selected” gates in both the Jamaica and Howard Beach stations, passengers will be able to pay the $8.25 one-way fare to exit or enter the system using Apple Pay, the MTA’s OMNY card or other contactless payment devices like credit/debit cards or smartwatches, according to a news release sent by the office.

The AirTrain remains free within airport terminals themselves.

For years, only the MetroCard has been accepted as payment, leading to long queues of tourists and other out-of-towners waiting to buy the card out of too-few vending machines.

“The initial installation of OMNY at the Jamaica and Howard Beach stations represents the first phase of the integration process. The number of OMNY-equipped gates will steadily increase over the next 15 months,” the release said. “By the end of 2024, the OMNY ‘Tap and Go’ contactless readers will be fully integrated into all fare gates.”

OMNY contactless payments debuted in the city subways in 2019 and have since been rolled out to buses.

New York’s airports are behind several other big world cities, which have allowed contactless payment for years.

In April, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said its rollout of OMNY for the Long Island Rail Road — already years behind schedule — was being “torn apart and put back together,” as transit officials came to grips with the $772 million project being off track.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.