A survey of the nation’s busiest airports has rated Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport as one that has seen the largest price increases over the last year.
According to financial tech site SmartAsset, BHM has seen the 14th highest increases since 2021.
SmartAsset looked at the 100 busiest U.S. airports and compared them across three metrics: average airfare for the first quarter of 2022, as well as the one-year percentage change and dollar amount in average airfare, using U.S. Bureau of Transportation statistics.
According to the survey, BHM has an average fare of $413, an increase of 27.7% over the past year, or $90 higher than 2021.
Topping the list is Westchester County Airport (HPN), which is north of New York City, with an average fare of $380, or an increase of 45.5%.
SmartAsset’s analysis said airfare has increased nationally by 26.24% from the first quarter of 2021, but some of those increases are much higher for individual airports. In about 23 airports, average ticket prices are more than 30% higher.
Only two airports nationally have average airfares of less than $200 – Orlando Sanford International Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.
What’s the cause? For one thing, more people are taking to the air now after the COVID-19 pandemic, which depressed prices as air travel took a big hit. At the same time, fuel costs are up, constituting 30% of operational costs for the airlines.
Efforts to reach the Birmingham Airport Authority for comment were unsuccessful. It should be noted that airlines set prices based on local markets.
