Sneaky fee on airport purchase sparks outrage after traveler shares receipt: ‘Out of control’

A traveler is pushing back after discovering an unexpected fee on a bookstore receipt from a store located inside New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The traveler, who posted on Reddit last week, shared a photo of a receipt from Bryant Park Market, a Hudson-operated store at JFK Airport’s Terminal 5.

The customer purchased “The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by John U. Bacon for $21.99, only to discover there was an additional and unexpected charge on the receipt.

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“I just wanted to buy a book before my 6 a.m. flight,” the user wrote. “And naturally, they tax on top of the added fee as well!”

“A 3% surcharge has been applied to your purchase. This charge is for employee and retention programs and is not a gratuity,” the receipt reads, as shown in the person’s online post.

A traveler at a New York City airport sparked discussion after discovering an unexpected 3% surcharge on a bookstore purchase. (Gilles Sabrie/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It shows that 66 cents was added as part of a 3% surcharge, bringing the taxable subtotal to $22.65.

The buyer then paid $2.01 in sales tax at the regular 8.875% rate, bringing the total to $24.66.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told Fox News Digital that the 3% Employee Benefits and Retention Surcharge was authorized in December 2024 and has been in effect for more than a year.

An official said the surcharge is designed to support annual wage increases for thousands of airport workers while helping retailers cover higher labor costs stemming from airport minimum wage requirements and the Healthy Terminals Act.

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An official said the surcharge is designed to support annual wage increases for thousands of airport workers while helping retailers cover higher labor costs stemming from airport minimum wage requirements and the Healthy Terminals Act.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Hudson, which referred questions to the Port Authority.

Reddit users expressed frustration over the additional charge.

The receipt stated that the 3% surcharge supports employee and retention programs and is not considered a gratuity. (iStock)

“Hopefully they don’t retain you as a future customer,” one person wrote.

“This hidden fee stuff is out of control,” another said. “They need to change the laws, so things are marked [at] what they actually cost.”

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A third user wrote, “I would have canceled the purchase when I saw it on the screen.”

Though the surcharge could be confused with a tip, Bryan Gildenberg, managing director of retail research and consulting firm Retail Cities, said it should not be considered a gratuity.

International terminal, train and control tower at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. (Skyhobo via Getty Images)

“So I never really thought of it as a gratuity. And I don’t know that that’s the right way to think about it,” Gildenberg told Fox News Digital.

He added, “It’s really, that one’s really more of a surcharge that the companies are allowed to charge to cover the cost of operating at the airport.”

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Gildenberg noted that operating a store at an airport is often more expensive than running one elsewhere, partly because employees face additional commuting challenges.

“In any captive environment, the likelihood that you’re getting great price value isn’t very high.”

He said that airport retailers try to keep their prices comparable to those outside airports despite higher operating costs.

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Gildenberg said travelers should purchase necessities before arriving at the airport whenever possible — and to expect to pay more if they don’t have what they need.

“The two best words to keep in mind in airport shopping are the Latin words caveat emptor, which means let the buyer beware,” Gildenberg said.

He described airport shoppers as a “captive audience.”

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“Like in any captive environment, the likelihood that you’re getting great price value isn’t very high,” he said.

An expert advised travelers to purchase necessities before arriving at airports whenever possible, warning that airport shopping can come with higher prices. (Jeff Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Gildenberg said the backlash is part of a broader picture involving consumer frustration with rising prices.

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“I think there’s a lot of consumer anger and frustration about what things cost today,” he said.