COLUMBIA, S.C. — Spring break is here for many families and, while a surge of vacationers head to the airport, they’re also seeing a surge in prices.
Columbia Metropolitan Airport is bustling with travelers this April. CAE officials told News19 they’ve seen a significant increase in traffic compared to last year.
Traveler Norma Mahler told News19 that when she got to the airport it was "jampacked." She flew in from Washington D.C. to attend the Masters.
While demand for flights is going up, so is the cost of tickets. When Mahler looked at her ticket price, she said she assumed it was because she was flying into a smaller airport like Columbia's. "But I can see that happening with the costs of everything going up,” Mahler added about rising ticket prices.
According to the flight tracking app Hopper, domestic airfare is trending 7% above 2019 prices. The average cost of a domestic roundtrip ticket was $330 in March, up 40% from the beginning of this year. The study says airfare is also expected to rise another 10% through May.
News19 also spoke to travelers Scott and Leslie. Their flight to London cost "about the same as pre-COVID." However, they added that this time around their flights were much busier. “We just literally got the last two seats at check-in, so we actually can’t even sit together,” said Scott.
Analysts say the higher prices are partly due to a surge in oil costs. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, jet fuel is currently $3.79 a gallon -- it hasn’t been that high since 2008.
A CAE spokesperson sent the following statement to News19:
“Ahead of Spring Break travel, we encourage passengers to not only pack their patience but continuously check the status of their flights on their airline’s app, arrive to the airport at least two hours early and remember the current mask ordinance is still in place until April 18.”
Under CDC guidance, TSA requires masks to be worn in airports and on planes through April 18th. It’s unclear if the agency will extend the requirement or let it expire.