Half-term flight prices rise by nearly half since pandemic
They've gone up by an average of 42 per cent since 2019
Flights for half-term getaways are an average of 42% more expensive than before the coronavirus pandemic.
That's according to analysis from Consumer group Which?
It found the typical price of a one-way ticket for the week-long school holiday in October booked six months, three months and six weeks in advance was £212.
For the same period in 2019, it was £150.
The increase has been blamed on rising fuel costs, pent-up demand for travel and airport passenger caps.
Where costs the most?
Which? analysed prices from data company Skytra for flights from six of England's busiest airports - Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Luton and Birmingham - to six popular destinations, which were Alicante, Antalya, Dubai, Dublin, Malaga and Tenerife.
The largest price hike was on flights from Heathrow to Tenerife.
Passengers booking six weeks before departure 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, according to Which?.
Flights from Gatwick to Dublin booked at the same time increased from £42 in 2019, to £160 this year.
Many holidaymakers suffered from flight cancellations and long queues at airports during the first half of the year, due to staff shortages across the aviation industry.
'We're paying through the nose'
Editor of Which? Travel, Guy Hobbs, 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 cost of living crisis:
Interest rates and inflation go up
Inflation rose by 8.8% in the 12 months to January 2023, down from 9.2% in December 2022. With interest rates also rising to 4%, those saving money will earn more interest on their finances, whilst those paying mortgages would pay more interest to the bank.
Energy bills
The price of energy went up incredibly as the cost of living crisis hit, with the gas price spike caused largely by the war in Ukraine. The price cap - which is set by an independent regulator to help offset costs onto customers - was set to rise to £3,549 for an average home in October but a price freeze from the government restricted the typical bill to £2,500. That's still an increase of 27% from the previous energy cap and as it's a cap on unit cost, the more energy you use the higher your bill will be.
Food prices
The cost of a weekly shop also has gone up as a result of the cost of living crisis. As a result of the war in Ukraine, a number of products including cooking oils and wheat have been disrupted. This means that several products are now considerably more expensive, driving bills up for customers.
Prices at the pumps
The average cost of petrol has also rose to unprecedented levels. Supply lines for petrol have been thrown into doubt as a result of the war in Ukraine, as Russia is a large export partner for gas, oil and fuel. In April 2022, the average price for a litre of petrol on the forecourt was 160.2p, whilst a litre of diesel would cost 170.5p. By late June 2022 the price had risen to an average of 190.9p for a litre of unleaded and 198.9p for a litre of diesel. In March 2023 the price wass on average of 147.03 in petrol and 167.04 in diesel.
Average cost of filling up a car with petrol hits £100
On 9th June 2022, the average cost of filling up a car with petrol hit £100 for the first time ever. Diesel had already hit that milestone. It comes as the cost of fuel hit a record high of one pound eighty a litre. The 2p rise was the biggest daily jump in 17 years. Prices have dropped by at least 20p per litre since the high point.