Air travel is down in Myrtle Beach and some say it's the cost to fly that is keeping people out of the sky and on the ground.
"It's cheaper to drive. It's only like 100 bucks for the whole week for gas," Trisha Young of North Carolina said.
Airport traffic is down about 14 percent overall and officials are not expecting much improvement for the summer months, according to Myrtle Beach International Airport's Director, Mike La Pier. He says the issue is lack of seats. The biggest reason for that, the sudden shutdown of Direct Air.
"Unfortunately with the situation with Direct Air, it really put a bad taste for air flight and the situation in general in a lot of travelers. Some of those folks lost out on ticket prices, and big money and were stranded," AAA Myrtle Beach branch manager Tracie Lawrence said.
AAA's latest numbers from May show a 12 percent drive-in increase. Lawrence expects more good news from June and July because hotels seem to be consistently booked, according to AAA.
Lawrence adds an early drop in gas prices in the summer season was also an incentive for travelers to get to the Grand Strand by driving.
With that though, one typical headache of tourist season is right on track; the traffic!
"It was crazy, traffic was crazy," Young added.
