Flying from Pennsylvania airports instead of out-of-state airports may become more popular thanks to a new state-sponsored Web site that will offer information and comparisons for 15 Pennsylvania airports, including University Park.

The Web site, IFlyPA.com, is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Bureau of Aviation, both located in Harrisburg.

The purpose of the site is to compare the travel costs of Pennsylvania airports to airports in neighboring states. The Web site was needed because Pennsylvania was losing flights to out-of-state airports, Centre County Airport Authority Director Charles Welch said.

He said people from Allentown and Philadelphia use the Newark Airport because of the wider selection of international flights.

PennDOT spokesman Kirk Wilson said Harrisburg residents frequently use the Baltimore/Washington International Airport because of reduced airfares, even though it's more than an hour away.

Some people who are living in Pittsburgh go to Ohio because they think it's less expensive as well.

The site, which has been in planning for six months, is just an attempt to curb this trend, Welch said.

"[IFlyPA.com] is the first effort to keep people flying out of Pennsylvania, instead of going to another state," Welch said.

Wilson said it is important for customers to weigh the options before using an out-of-state airport.

"We're not saying that we are the best, but over the last few years, airfares in Pennsylvania have dropped on average about 25 percent," Wilson said. "That is one of the reasons that we're asking [consumers] to take a look."

Driving time, parking costs and gas mileage are factors that raise the price of out-of-state airport travel, Wilson said.

"Before you travel an hour or two to an airport out of Pennsylvania, take a look at what the prices are in Pennsylvania," he said. "Check out the airfare from Harrisburg as opposed to going out to [Baltimore/Washington International] Airport."

The Web site will allow travelers to compare the individual air carriers from each of the 15 participating Pennsylvania airports, Wilson said.

"Using the airlines' site, you can determine the cost," Wilson said.

Mary Ann Sesso, the advertising account director for Pennsylvania Tourism and Economic Development, said Pennsylvania airfares have gone down, but even if the cost of flying from out-of-state airports is cheaper than flying from Pennsylvania, she said it's important to consider other factors.

For example, the cost of parking and tolls, the time it takes to get to the out-of-state airport and the wait in longer security lines because the out-of-state airport is bigger, Sesso said.

"When you consider all of the added time and stress, flying is already stressful enough, it just doesn't make sense, and that's kind of the overall message," Sesso said. "When you add it all up and weigh the difference, it really doesn't pay to go out of state."