The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that for millions of Canadians avoiding U.S. travel in the name of patriotism, rising airfare costs might yet be another deterrent. The Globe's Mariya Postelnyak writes that when U.S. President Donald Trump first voiced that Canada should become the 51st state, prices for southbound flights took a nosedive in tandem with plummeting demand and rising anti-U.S. sentiment. In early May of last year, the cost to fly to popular U.S. destinations dropped up to 37 per cent year-over-year. Canadians travelling to sunny Tampa, for instance, paid about $305 on average for airfare, or 35 per cent less than the previous year. Those making their way to Seattle and Los Angeles saw prices drop 18 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively. Today, this trend has reversed dramatically, with the average cost of an economy flight to the United States spiking 8 per cent year-over-year in December -- or reaching $522 on average. While demand for U.S. travel has remained at similarly low levels, costs have risen as carriers reduced capacity for flights bound south of the border. That has led to more and cheaper flights to previously underserved global destinations and higher costs for U.S. travel.