With more than 1 million visitors expected to descend on the city for the World Cup, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is pledging to crack down on hustlers who scam unsuspecting marks into pricey, unlicensed rides at area airports.
Officials from the bi-state agency on Tuesday announced a new campaign designed to combat a problem that has bewildered airport authorities for decades, as freshly arrived travelers are met by individuals offering illegal transportation services and ways to cut the waits for cabs and app-based vehicles.
“They are, at their best, annoying for travelers trying to get to their destinations who are accosted at baggage claim,” said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority. “At their worst, they are a real threat to public safety.”
Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia speaks at JFK Airport about an initiative to crack down on illegal taxi solicitation ahead of the World Cup, June 9, 2026. Credit: Alex Krales/The City Reporter
As part of a $100 million, 10-year campaign against illegal hustling, the presence of Port Authority police officers and New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission enforcement personnel will be increased at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports.
Drivers whose vehicles are impounded in connection with airport ride hustling will now have to pay an additional fee of $594 to retrieve their rides, in addition to facing stiffer punishment from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles if they are convicted of illegal solicitation. A conviction will now add five points to an offender’s license, with drivers also facing the prospect of surrendering a license if they rack up 11 or more points within two years.
Officials acknowledged that existing sanctions have done little to stem the long-running problem, even as the number of summonses at the airports by Port Authority police officers has been climbing for years.
In 2025, 2,874 summonses related to illegal rides were issued at JFK and LaGuardia, with 91% of the total at JFK alone, according to the Port Authority. The total number of illegal ride summonses handed out at the two airports has surged from 802 in 2022 — a more than 258% jump.
Through the end of May, the Taxi & Limousine Commission has hit drivers with 2,021 unlicensed operation summonses, a total that includes those doled out at both city airports.
“Even though most offenders have received a summons from PAPD, many continue to offend, viewing current consequences, particularly monetary fines, as a bearable cost of doing business,” Garcia said. “It is a problem that is vast and persistent and I’ll admit that it sometimes feels like a game of whack-a-mole.”
Port Authority police stand guard outside an entrance to JFK Airport, June 9, 2026. Credit: Alex Krales/The City Reporter
Richard Belluci, chief of police operations for the Port Authority police, said the goal of the ramped-up enforcement is to “increase the heat” on hustlers and make it “simply untenable” for them to keep operating at the airports, particularly at JFK.
“It’s going to cost them more money to come to JFK than they make if they worked here,” he said.
The campaign comes as the region prepares for global visitors flying into the city for eight World Cup matches that will be played just across the Hudson River between Saturday, June 13, and the July 19 final.
“They’ll arrive tired, eager to get to their lodgings and, for some, the first person they meet will be a TLC-licensed taxi or for-hire vehicle driver who takes them to their destination,” said Midori Valdivia, chair and commissioner of the TLC. “And I’ll be honest, there are no better ambassadors.”
But Valdivia added that tourists are too often unwittingly lured away by unlicensed drivers who then clobber them with jacked-up prices.
“There is no dignity in that experience. It not only endangers passengers but makes their first experiences in New York City traumatic,” she said. “And it also bleeds income from the pockets of hard-working, licensed TLC drivers who play by the rules.”
Officials said there have been 68 instances in the last year in which passengers were threatened, including 16 in which they were detained unless they forked over money.
“This is not being perpetrated by the average Joe looking for some extra change,” Garcia said. “These extreme cases are being perpetrated by criminals, some of which operate through a robust network of hustlers designed to prey on our most vulnerable passengers.”
Signs in more than 10 languages are being displayed at airport baggage claim areas to warn of the sketchy practices and the Port Authority will also begin upgrading its camera network at JFK in an effort to flag the license plate numbers of persistent offenders.
“The new technology will automatically notify PAPD, allowing them to have eyes on the ground the moment one of our repeat offenders enter the airport,” Garcia said.
Newly arrived passengers at JFK said Tuesday that the increased efforts should be focused on protecting who are pegged as easy marks.
“I personally ask myself every time, what kind of people do agree to go with these random, not-certified taxi drivers?” said Max Perelitsa, a filmmaker who had flown to JFK from Kazakhstan.
Filmmaker Max Perelitsa waits to catch a cab at JFK Airport after flying in from Kazakhstan, June 9, 2026. Credit: Alex Krales/The City Reporter
Garcia cited an instance from December in which two visitors from Japan accepted a ride from a driver who demanded $500 for a trip and drove them to an ATM. She added that when they refused to hand over the money, the unlicensed driver took them to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens and warned, “This will not end well.”
When authorities caught up to the driver, he was facing five outstanding criminal charges, Garcia said.
As he waited for a ride after landing at JFK, passenger Jay Henderson said he prefers to stick with what he knows for airport transportation instead of potentially falling into a trap.
“They’re the ones who are always by the door,” Henderson said. “That’s why I usually have a ride established, so I’ll never go to them.”
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