The MetroCard remains the hottest ticket in town for thousands of people who work at JFK Airport.

The MTA stopped selling the vinyl swipe cards at the start of the year, replacing them with its new digital tap-to-pay OMNY system. But the Port Authority, which runs the city’s airports, is still lagging behind. The trusty old MetroCard remains the only way for airport workers to score steep discounts on the pricey JFK Airport fare that would otherwise cost them $8.50 each way.

The MTA last month shut down its MetroCard vending machines at the Jamaica and Howard beach AirTrain stations. Now, a handful of newsstands at the Jamaica and Howard Beach stations are some of the only places where airport workers can buy 30-day MetroCards for the AirTrain, which cost $42.50, or 10-trip cards, which go for $26.50.

A Port Authority spokesperson said the agency does not yet have a plan to continue offering the discounts now that the MetroCards have gone the way of the dodo. If the agency doesn’t find a solution, any of the 40,000 people who work at JFK will be forced to pay $17 a day just to ride the AirTrain to their job.

“We are working with the MTA to implement JFK AirtTrain bulk trip discounts on OMNY that match the current offerings on the MetroCard,” Port Authority spokesperson Thomas Pietrykoski wrote in a statement. “Until that is implemented, the Port Authority has arranged with MTA to make MetroCards ​​available for Airport employees.”

The MetroCard vending machines at Jamaica station are collecting dust.

Stephen Nessen / Gothamist

Khan Suhail, who runs a Jamaica station newsstand, said he has enough 30-day and 10-trip AirTrain MetroCards in stock to last him until March.

“ After March, we will see what happens next,” he said.

Piantonio Ventura, 42, who works ground operations for JetBlue, commutes from Manhattan to JFK for work every day. He was sickened by the thought of paying $17 for the AirTrain on top of a $6 for the subway just to get to and from work.

”I can’t afford that. No one could afford it, honestly. If you come here every day, you can’t afford it,” Ventura said. “ I got to figure out another way to get to work, possibly a bus and then walk.”

“It’s ridiculous,” he lamented.

It’s not just airline personnel who rely on the AirTrain discounts. The AirTrain is the main way most people who work in the airport terminals’ shops and restaurants get to work every day.

The JFK AirTrain costs $8.50 each way, but people who work at the airport rely on discounted 30-day MetroCards designed for the people mover that cost $42.50.

Stephen Nessen / Gothamist

“ We’re not going to pay that. That’s too expensive,” said Jordan Carson, 36, who lives in Mott Haven and commutes to the airport for his job at the duty-free Hugo Boss store.

The confusion created by the Port Authority’s lack of a plan comes as the agency has repeatedly bungled its adoption of the MTA’s new OMNY system. The Port Authority in 2023 installed OMNY readers at a select number of its AirTrain entry gates. The two systems were incompatible, which forced the Port Authority to leave the gates wide open. A spokesperson for the Port Authority in 2024 called it a “temporary, creative interim OMNY solution.” The turnstiles with OMNY-only readers remain wide open today, and the agency relies on security guards to ensure riders don’t simply walk through without paying their fare.

The Port Authority must reckon with the future of the 30-day unlimited AirTrain pass as it undergoes a leadership change. The agency’s executive director, Rick Cotton, is retiring next month, and Kathryn Garcia, the director of state operations under Gov. Kathy Hochul, is taking over.

Cash is still king in some corners of New York City.

Stephen Nessen / Gothamist

Transit advocates urged Garcia to address the situation — and also said it could set a new standard for a new 30-day unlimited pass for all the city’s transit systems. The MTA ended its 30-day unlimited pass option alongside the retirement of the MetroCard, and now only offers a seven-day pass through the OMNY system.

“ We hope that that is just an opening of the door or more conversation opening the door for a 30-day unlimited subway or bus ticket option as well,” said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.