People living around the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia metropolitan areas have more leeway in airport selection than most other regions of the country.
The trifecta of the biggest and busiest airports, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Dulles International Airport (IAD), and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), all neighbor each other and are fairly accessible to residents of each of their respective home states.
But according to a recent study done by Finance Buzz, one of those local airports might hurt the wallet more than the others.
Coming in first place as the most expensive international airport was Dulles, with an average airfare cost of $494.78.
Last year, Dulles and San Francisco International (SFO) were the only two airports where the average airfare cost exceeded $400. This year, 11 more airports passed the $400 threshold, but Dulles and San Francisco still remain at the top for most expensive in the country.
According to the study, the overall national average airfare cost increased by 14.1% from 2021 to 2022 when adjusted for inflation.
As for the other two local airports, they fared in the middle of the pack regarding affordability. Out of the 45 airports in the study, BWI ranked came in 16th place with an average airfare cost of $351.26, and DCA ranked in at 23rd with an average airfare cost of $379.01.
Finance Buzz also suggests that there are a couple of different ways to save money when looking for flights. You can use airline credit card points or travel cards when booking, look out for the different airfare prices that fluctuate throughout the week, and sign up for cheap flight alerts on various websites, like Going.
The full Finance Buzz article, along with more data and the methodology behind the study, can be found here.
