London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Ryanair: Holiday prices likely to rise sharply soon

Ryanair: Holiday prices likely to rise sharply soon

The boss of budget airline Ryanair has warned holiday prices are likely to rise sharply next year as consumer demand for travel rebounds.

Michael O'Leary told The Sunday Times fewer flights, inflation and more taxes would drive airfares up.

"I think there will be a dramatic recovery in holiday tourism within Europe next year," he said.

"And the reason why I think prices will be dramatically higher is that there's less capacity."

Ryanair's short-haul rivals had all had to reduce their fleets because of the pandemic, he added.

"Take out Thomas Cook (six million seats), Flybe (eight million seats), Norwegian (nearly 24 million seats)... Alitalia's reducing its fleet by 40%," said Mr O'Leary.

"There is going to be about 20% less short-haul capacity in Europe in 2022, with a dramatic recovery in demand."

Ryanair is planning to open a new base at Newcastle International Airport next year, creating at least 60 aviation jobs.

Its rival EasyJet meanwhile has closed its bases at Stansted, London Southend and Newcastle airports, and from 1 November, Ryanair will cease all operations at Southend, meaning no passenger planes will use the airport.

This comes as economists predict inflation will continue to rise over the rest of the year, which Mr O'Leary said was a factor in increasing airfares, as well as the threat of increasing environmental taxes.

Airlines say bookings have not recovered sufficiently, despite easing Covid restrictions

However, to combat this he intended to cut prices for winter 2020 in order to "grab market share from everywhere".

Airlines have been hit hard by lockdowns and travel restrictions around the world, with many announcing job cuts.

EasyJet said in May that it planned up to 4,500 job cuts as it struggled with the collapse in air travel caused by the coronavirus crisis.

It has started to fly passengers again but does not expect 2019 levels of demand to be reached again until 2023.

Multiple airlines have warned that thousands more jobs could be at risk if the government's furlough scheme was not extended after 30 September, as bookings have not recovered.

They have also criticised the government for its "confusing" traffic-light travel list system.

Canada, Switzerland and Denmark were among the latest countries to join the UK's green travel list.

Meanwhile, the government is planning to overhaul the traffic light system in the coming weeks, the BBC has been told.

Tim Alderslade from industry body Airlines UK said: "There are over half a million direct jobs that rely on aviation and we're now entering the lean winter period. Something may have to give, without the furlough support that is coming to an end this month.

"This summer was such a missed opportunity - alone across Europe we insisted on expensive and complex PCR tests and it's no wonder demand remained weak. Until we stop being such an outlier it will be impossible to get back to anything like 2019 levels of trade."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×