Airport food and drink prices have always been known to be expensive for travelers, but recent reports have shown that some items are marked up by more than double their street cost. For example, a chocolate bar may be priced at 120 percent higher and a burger can be marked up by 46 percent compared to their regular prices outside of the airport. This analysis was conducted by Business Insider, which looked at airport terminal menus and in-person reviews.

The high prices can be attributed to several factors, including limited competition, higher operating costs, and pricing policies set by airport authorities. In the mid-20th century, airports began seeing passenger terminals as sources of revenue and started adding restaurants and amenities to attract both travelers and locals. This trend was further accelerated by the deregulation of airlines in 1978, which led to cheaper fares and more fliers. In the 1980s, longer layovers also presented an opportunity for airports to turn their terminals into shopping malls.

However, the pricing model that was initially used by Pittsburgh in the early 1990s, known as “street pricing”, has largely been replaced by a model called “street pricing plus”. Under this model, airports allow concessionaires to charge the average outside price plus an additional ten to fifteen percent. For instance, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LaGuardia Airport, requires vendors to set prices based on the average prices outside the airport plus fifteen percent. However, this model is not always enforced consistently, as seen in the case of a chocolate bar being sold for less at a nearby store while still being marked up at LaGuardia. The Port Authority did not indicate that it would change the pricing for this item.

Similarly, at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, investigators found that a Hudson News location was charging sixty-nine percent more than a nearby Walgreens, and a Chick-fil-A meal was priced sixteen percent higher, with yogurt marked up by eighty-four percent. The Metropolitan Airports Commission, which operates the airport, said that it audits prices twice a year or as needed but declined to explain the disparities.

The high costs of doing business inside terminals also contribute to the expensive prices of airport food and drinks. These costs include security screenings for staff and deliveries, construction expenses that are thirty to forty percent higher than comparable street projects, longer operating hours, and local wage regulations. Concessionaires also pay a portion of their sales as rent, which can range from six to twenty percent, with the most common being around ten to sixteen percent.

One of the main reasons for the high costs is limited competition within terminals. Six large corporations dominate the majority of US airport food and retail, and many terminals have multiple branded outlets operated by the same parent company, reducing real choice for passengers. Mergers in the industry have further consolidated the market, and some large operators have pressured airports to raise or remove pricing caps.