What should I do with my cat while I'm away for three weeks?

in december im flying back to pittsburgh for three weeks. my boyfriend is also going home as is my best friend. most of my other friends out here are not from Colorado so they wont be around during the holidays either. So, I could pay 150 bucks to fly him home with me and back, but honestly he is so needy and he tends to freak out often and I’m worried flying would really be bad for his mental health. Physical too maybe. Also that is expensive.

At the same time I know a pet sitter or a pet boarding company place would be even more expensive, right? And like I said he is REALLY needy. Meaning he meows and meows if he hasn’t been petted in a few hours, he always wants food, and he is prone to seriously awful freak outs. He has accidents fairly frequently for no reason and sometimes vomits out of the clear blue, also for no reason. (Believe me I’m looking into these problems as well, but last vet visit a month ago everything was fine)....anyhow, what should I do?

I’ve also had a friend tell me that she drugs her cat and takes it in her carry-on so she doesn’t have to pay. But wouldn’t they see it in the x-ray machine?

Anyhow, I don’t know what to do.