{"id":387694,"date":"2026-03-16T09:44:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/387694\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T09:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:44:14","slug":"how-flights-to-spain-and-greece-this-summer-will-be-up-to-50-more-expensive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/387694\/","title":{"rendered":"How flights to Spain and Greece this summer will be up to 50% more expensive"},"content":{"rendered":"

The escalating conflict in the Middle East will \u201cinevitably\u201d drive up ticket prices for short-haul flights from the UK to popular Mediterranean holiday destinations<\/a>, experts have told The i Paper.<\/p>\n

Some of the world\u2019s biggest airlines have already unveiled plans to increase their prices as the war ramps up the cost of jet fuel.<\/p>\n

Hong Kong aviation giant Cathay Pacific announced an emergency fuel surcharge on Thursday, effectively doubling it on most of its routes. It joined Australia\u2019s Qantas Airways, Scandinavia\u2019s SAS, and Thai Airways, which have all unveiled price rises since the war broke out on 28 February.<\/p>\n

Oil prices shot up again on Thursday after Iraqi security officials said Iranian explosive-laden boats struck two oil tankers off Iraq\u2019s southern coast.<\/p>\n

Iran<\/a> has warned the world should be ready for oil at $200 (\u00a3150) a barrel.<\/p>\n

Air New Zealand said on Thursday it would cut 5 per cent of its flights \u2013 around 1,100 services \u2013 through early May due to the increase in costs and travel disruption sparked by the war.<\/p>\n

While airlines use hedging contracts to cap the cost of future jet fuel purchases, protecting them against sudden price rises, one aviation expert said it is \u201cvery possible\u201d that a persistent increase in oil prices will hit passengers\u2019 pockets \u201ceverywhere\u201d.<\/p>\n

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research, told The i Paper: \u201cAlready airlines like Air New Zealand have cut flights on the back of the uncertainty \u2013 if an airline that far away from the Middle East can be affected, then so too can European airlines \u2013 and not every airline will have hedged their fuel bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this war continues beyond March, then I do see EU airlines starting to hike fares across the board in advance of the summer season to popular destinations as demand gravitates away from the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmad said the \u201csheer uncertainty as to when the war ends, as well as Iran\u2019s ability to stifle the Strait of Hormuz, is driving up costs\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added that \u201coil price volatility isn\u2019t helping and the higher pricing we see now will only continue to rise as the war drags on\u201d.<\/p>\n

The remarks were backed by Richard Vilton, chief executive of Emu Analytics, which develops intelligence software for airports, airlines, and airspace regulators.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cEven when disruption happens far from the UK, changes to available airspace can ripple through airline networks. If airlines need to reroute flights to avoid certain regions, it can increase flight times and reduce the flexibility they have to keep aircraft and crews running exactly to schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor short-haul leisure routes to destinations like Greece and Spain, the impact is often indirect. Airlines may adjust schedules, add small buffers, or redeploy aircraft across their network to maintain reliability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know from our customers that airlines are investing significant time and resources to minimise disruption and reduce the inconvenience to passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Grant, chief analyst at the aviation analytics firm OAG, said:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s inevitable that prices will rise in line with the price of oil regardless of where the flight is operating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skyscanner\u2019s travel expert Laura Lindsay told The i Paper that \u201cwe may see some carriers increase fares to offset increased costs\u201d in fuel, but she added that \u201cmost airlines will do everything they can to price attractively to stay ahead of the competition\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ryanair chief executive Michael O\u2019Leary said the company\u2019s hedged contracts mean rising oil prices \u201cwon\u2019t affect our low fares\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hedged for the next 12 months out to March 2027 \u200bat about $67 (\u00a350) per \u200cbarrel,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it won\u2019t affect our costs and it \u200bwon\u2019t affect our low fares.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Noel-Beswick, head of commodities at the market intelligence firm Sparta Commodities, said holidaymakers could expect to see the issue hit prices in the coming weeks and months.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it goes on beyond \u2013 let\u2019s say three or four weeks \u2013 then that picture for European holiday costs really rapidly changes,\u201d he told The i Paper this week, predicting \u201ca 30, 40, 50 per cent addition\u201d to the cost of tickets this summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The escalating conflict in the Middle East will \u201cinevitably\u201d drive up ticket prices for short-haul flights from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,18,130148,52025,19,18929,17,177287,4319,1545],"class_list":["post-387694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-eire","tag-europe-travel","tag-flights","tag-ie","tag-iran","tag-ireland","tag-middle-east-travel","tag-travel","tag-war"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116238212437728583","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}