Metro-East News

Looking for a cheap flight? MidAmerica offers fifth cheapest in country, study finds

A recent study of U.S. Regional Airport costs found MidAmerica St. Louis Airport is one of the cheapest regional airports in the country for “budget-conscious” travelers.

According to a study of Bureau of Transportation statistics by FinanceBuzz, in 2021 MidAmerica had the fifth cheapest flights in the country, just behind Trenton Mercer in Tennessee. The study compared the costs of the average domestic flight at 95 regional airports across the country.

Currently, the airport offers flights to 12 destinations through Allegiant Air in Florida, South Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia. Allegiant Air is the airport’s sole flight provider. The airport is hoping to bring in new airlines and flight destinations by paying airlines $100,000 to come to the airport.

A flight to Jacksonville, Flordia is MidAmerica’s cheapest flight through Allegiant Air, starting at $43.

The airport’s 2021 passenger total will be roughly 14% over 2019’s total when the airport saw its highest number of passengers ever, Bryan Johnson, airport director, told the BND in May.

Since 2015, the airport has grown from a yearly total of 63,000 passengers to more than 300,000 in 2019, and passenger counts have increased consistently to make MidAmerica the sixth-busiest passenger terminal in Illinois, according to annual MidAmerica reports.

This story was originally published July 23, 2021 at 10:52 AM.

Kavahn Mansouri
Belleville News-Democrat
Kavahn Mansouri is an Investigate Reporter for the NPR Midwest Newsroom based in St. Louis, Missouri, a journalism partner with the Belleville News-Democrat. Support my work with a digital subscription
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER