Apparently the skies aren’t so friendly anymore above the Des Moines International Airport.

Air fares out of Des Moines have sky-rocketed in recent months, aggravating Iowa residents — business travelers, in particular. United Airlines, for example, reportedly is charging an outrageous $954 for round-trip service from Des Moines to Denver during the business week, while the same service from Omaha and Kansas City run hundreds of dollars less. Other carriers, such as TWA and Northwest, also are jacking up their fares.

These actions especially set a trap for businesses that utilize the Des Moines International Airport on a regular basis. Businesspersons are stuck; companies only are eligible for an air-fare discount over the weekend in most cases, and the nearest competing airport for the same destinations are hundreds of miles away.

Can the Des Moines International Airport really get away with this? Frequent fliers are fuming at the power of this monopoly, but they’re also being ignored. Where do they turn?

Although the matter has been brought to the attention of the U.S. Congress, no changes have been enacted. Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Ia., called the air-fare power trip “terrible,” yet as a member of the House Transportation Committee, he voted to delay action until “further study.” In other words, the issue will collect some dust before a resolution comes into sight.

The truth quite possibly may be that members of Congress simply don’t care; after all, they fly at considerably reduced rates, while at the same time receiving campaign dollars from airlines.

What needs to happen is that the issue must be narrowed to a state level. It just doesn’t hold enough ground in Congress to receive a quick fix — it’s an Iowa problem that the state itself needs to resolve, whether through a commission that governs rates or through the Iowa legislature.

It isn’t fair to throw a state issue, especially one as controversial as this, on the back burner in the U.S. Congress. It’s irresponsible, unfair and, worst of all, ignorant.