ORLANDO, Fla. -- Some outraged motorists have scrawled warning messages and curse words on gas pumps after paying up to $4.50 for a gallon for gasoline at a station near Orlando International Airport.

Residents and tourists said they were shocked to see the gas prices at the Landing Strip gas station located on Semoran Boulevard, just north of the airport.

"I didn't even look until I pulled up and I went, 'Holy cow,'" driver Julie Melser said.

There are no signs advertising the high prices at the station.

"So, what do you think about (the high prices)?" WKMG reporter Tony Pipitone asked.

"We're leaving is what we think about it," a motorist said.

Some people improvise after noticing the gas prices.

"I've already swiped my card so I'm getting $1 and I'm out of here," driver Dave Emerick said. "I'll try to make it to the next (gas station). This is ridiculous."

WKMG asked station manager Bob Barnes how he can get away with charging the prices when other gas stations are charging $2.60 or $2.70 a gallon.

"Well, mainly it is volume," Barnes said. "As you can see, the pumps are practically full. Everybody knows what the price is because they have to hit the little lever and they see the price above the lever. And that is how you get away with it."

The Landing Strip is the closest gas station to Hertz and Thrifty car rental returns and the last pumps before the airport.

"It seems like corporate greed," motorist Mark Ferguson said. "Wow, this is just a classic rip-off."

The high prices are not illegal since the state says businesses can charge whatever the market bears for gasoline, unless the governor has declared an emergency.

And, gas stations are not required to erect gas signs showing how much customers will pay, the report said.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.