Salt Lake City International Airport ranked as third-most expensive in US

Gated Delta Airlines airplanes at Salt Lake City International Airport. Photo: Michele Roepke

SALT LAKE CITY — A new study has ranked the Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) as the third-most expensive airport to fly out of in the U.S.

According to Finance Buzz’s 2024 U.S. Airport Cost Rankings, out of the nation’s 45 busiest airports, SLC was among the most expensive with an average airfare cost of nearly $440.

SLC was also listed as the airport with the fifth-largest drop in affordability from 2022 to 2023.

Utah’s busiest airport was topped only by the San Francisco International Airport with an average airfare cost of nearly $445, and the Washington Dulles International Airport with an average airfare cost of $488.

The least expensive airports nationally included Orlando International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Harry Reid International Airport.

For its 2024 U.S. Airport Cost Rankings, Finance Buzz assessed 2023 airfare data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation in May 2024 to compare domestic airfares by origin city. Average fares were then calculated based on domestic itinerary fares.

Overall, the average cost of airfare nationally decreased by 3.1% from 2022 to 2023 when adjusted for inflation, a 0.9% increase in non-adjusted dollars.

According to Finance Buzz, the last time inflation-adjusted airfare costs dropped year-over-year was during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it fell by 18% between 2019 and 2020.