Families can expect to pay nearly twice as much for a holiday abroad this October half term compared with 2019, according to research conducted by Which?. The consumer group found flights were 42 per cent more expensive than before the pandemic.
It comes as the country is gripped in a cost of living crisis and airlines face rising fuel costs. Demand for foreign holidays has also soared this year as countries scrapped their coronavirus travel restrictions.
Which? analysed data from Skytra which revealed huge price rises for flights across the country. The average cost of one-way half-term tickets for six popular destinations came in at £212 this year compared to £150 in 2019.
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According to Skytra chief executive Elise Weber said rising fuel costs, pent up demand and airport passenger caps are all contributing to higher fares. The steepest jump in average prices was seen at Heathrow airport, where passenger numbers have been capped at 100,000 a day until the end of the school break on October 29.
Which? compared the average price of flights to six popular destinations – Alicante, Antalya, Dubai, Dublin, Malaga and Tenerife – from England’s busiest airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Luton and Birmingham. The analysis looked at fares at six months, three months and six weeks before the October half-term in 2019 and 2022.
The largest price hike was on flights from Heathrow to Tenerife. Passengers booking six weeks before their departure date paid an average of £262 more each way than in 2019, adding £2,096 to the cost of a holiday for a family of four. Heathrow to Malaga flights were £282 – an increase of £193 or 216 per cent in three years.
Heathrow to Dublin was £236 on average – 181 per cent more expensive compared to the pre-pandemic price – but fares to the Irish capital varied enormously depending on the departure airport. Which? found the cost of flights has soared from Gatwick, Manchester, Heathrow and Birmingham.
Flights from Gatwick to Dublin saw the biggest rise. Passengers who booked six weeks before half-term paid £42 in 2019 and £160 in 2022 – a huge 281 per cent increase.
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.”
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