The lack of airfare competition in WA's north-west has meant some travellers could be slugged nearly $6000 if they intend to fly between Broome and Perth next weekend.
While it might be a last-minute trip, locals needing to travel this Sunday would be slugged $5,862 - one way - and have to go business class via Melbourne, with direct flights and economy seats all booked out.
Passengers would also face the daunting prospect of flying for nearly 10 hours, according to the Qantas website, while it's sole competitor for the route, Virgin Australia, is also completely sold out.
The near $6k outlay would far exceed a typical business class seat from Broome to Perth, with flights typically ranging from $2,000 and $4,000 - while a standard economy flight would set you back far less at around $1182 return.
Broome Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer Jael Napper said recent flight prices were indicative of a much wider problem faced by the Broome community.
"I've never seen the flights so high before," she said.
"There's less competition on the Perth to Broome link with only two carriers whose prices are always reflective of each other... the pricing and capacity model they work from is very hard to understand."
Broome's unique position means it is a gateway for Fly In Flight Out workers for the Ichthys and Prelude offshore gas facilities, and it is one of WA's most popular tourist destinations.
The number of travellers trickling through the town ramps up even more during the school holidays, and the constant demand continues to drive up flight prices due to a lack of competition.
However Ms Napper said the fully booked planes should demonstrate a market demand and the need for more airlines in the region.
"Many of our businesses rely on the tourist season to underpin their entire annual operating turnover," she said.
"From a local business perspective outside of tourism, many will need to do regular unavoidable trips to Perth and the expense of doing so can be prohibitive."
Ms Napper said the nature of the town meant a lot of residents were often flying back-and-forth at short notice and when asked what Broome residents do in the event of an emergency that requires them to be in Perth, she said locals had very few options.
"Pray, pay or drive," she said.
The State Government recently announced an inquiry into the high cost of regional airfares in Western Australia, and said they would investigate the impact sky-high fares have had on business, tourism and relationships in WA's regional centres
Ms Napper said she hoped the inquiry would bring Broome's situation into the spotlight.
"There's greater demand for these services in and out of Broome... we're hoping that an innovative solution can be uncovered through this process," she said.