SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– Summertime is almost here, and with that means an increased amount of traffic throughout the Springfield-Branson National Airport.
Kent Boyd with the airport said travelers could see their airfare go up— but that’s only because of the rising costs elsewhere.
“Prices on the airline side have definitely gone up and there are a lot of different reasons for it,” Boyd said. “One is the fact that they’re still trying to get their act together after the pandemic. The other is general inflation. And another very important one is the price of fuel right now, which is everyone knows it’s just gone through the roof. I think jet fuel right now is near or at a record high.”
Boyd said the numbers they’re seeing coming through the airport means people are buying tickets regardless of the price.
“The interesting thing is, is that people right now at least seem to be willing to pay that higher fare,” Boyd said. “And I suspect the reason is, is that a lot of people were basically cooped up for two years and they want to get out and want to go somewhere.”
Daniel and Rachel Smith are traveling back to Portugal after being in the area for a missionary trip. They said they hadn’t traveled for three years and have noticed drastic changes.
“For us, as traveling internationally have gone considerably up, it’s been a lot more expensive to travel this time than it has been on the last, the last furloughs that we’ve taken,” Daniel Smith said.
Scott and Lynne Farrar are heading back to Oregon after vacation in Branson. They said they’ve noticed the increasing prices, but have made adjustments in order to keep traveling.
“It’s not costing us a lot to go places, except for the airfare is,” Lynne Farrar said. “So we just plan around it and save our money. We know where we’re going, how much we need. It hasn’t really been too bad. You know, the car rentals, that renting a car that has gone up.”