Airport chaos adds hundreds to price of half-term holidays as cost of flights soars above pre-pandemic levels, data suggests
- October half-term holiday costs have soared above its pre-pandemic levels
- Some one-way flights are now more than three times their price in 2019
- Flights prices from Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester were 42 per cent higher
- The most expensive flight analysed was from Heathrow to Dubai costing £847
The cost of escaping Britain for sunnier climes this October half-term has soared, with some flights to hotspots now hundreds of pounds more than pre-pandemic levels, according to a study.
Some one-way flights are now more than three times their price in 2019, according to analysis of the six busiest airports in England and the six most popular holiday destinations by the Which? consumer champion.
They found flights from Birmingham, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Manchester and Stansted to Alicante, Antalya, Dubai, Dublin, Malaga and Tenerife were on average 42 per cent more expensive than three years ago – up from £150 to £212.
Their findings were based on data by industry firm Skytra, who looked at the price of one-way journeys between the domestic and foreign airports, booked with six months, three months and six weeks to go respectively before the start of the autumn break.
For example, the cost of a one-way flight from Gatwick to Dublin, booked six weeks before the October half-term, increased by around 280 per cent – up from £42 three years ago to £160 now.
A flight from Manchester to Dublin increased by more than 230 per cent, from £45 to £149. Skytra chief executive Elise Weber said rising fuel costs, pent-up demand for travel emerging from the pandemic and airport passenger caps are all contributing to higher fares.
Guy Hobbs, Editor of Which? Travel, said: ‘Travellers have had a torrid time this year and our analysis shows they’re paying through the nose for their trouble. With fares so high, it’s even more important that airports and airlines are held to account for the unacceptable disruption travellers have faced. The Government should give the Civil Aviation Authority stronger powers so it can hit operators with heavy fines when they flout the rules.’
The most expensive flight analysed was from Heathrow to Dubai, booked six weeks before half-term, and costing £847. The same flight in 2019 cost £603.
The most expensive flight analysed was from Heathrow to Dubai, booked six weeks before half-term, and costing £847. The same flight in 2019 cost £603
And a flight from Heathrow to Dublin, booked with six weeks to go before the October break, cost £236 this September, up from £84 the same time three years ago. However, a tiny handful of journeys actually went down in price.
This included the cost of a one-way flight from Luton to Dublin, booked with six weeks to go before half-term – down from £27 pre-pandemic to £17 this year.
A spokesman for Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, said: ‘Heathrow doesn’t stand to benefit from increased ticket prices this coming half-term.
‘The unprecedented surge in passenger demand this summer, coupled with staffing shortages across the travel sector in Europe and the US, has inevitably pushed up prices – and that’s even before considering the higher fuel costs and rising inflation.
‘Therefore, the best thing we can do to help relieve that pressure for passengers is get teams across the sector fully resourced, and we’re supporting our airline partners and ground handlers working at Heathrow to do this as quickly as possible.’
Passengers at major airports including Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick experienced major disruption during the summer, with long queues at security and baggage reclaim, as well as last-minute cancellations.
Airline firms had been forced to axe thousands of workers in the gap between the end of the Government’s furlough scheme and the end of Covid travel restrictions.
MPs were told this summer that firms were facing competition from labour markets and other industries to attract staff back to airlines.
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