Cheap flights in Europe face a fuel cost reckoning as Ryanair’s CEO says fares could rise up to 20% next year because of the Iran war
Source: Fortune ·
Michael O’Leary warns that European airfares could rise as much as 20% in 2027 as the Iran war drives up fuel costs and forces airlines to cut flights.
From the source
Americans planning next year’s summer Euro trip may want to start saving now as the Iran war pushes up fuel prices and the CEO of the world’s biggest budget airline warns that the continent’s notoriously cheap short-haul flights could soon become more expensive. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said on CNBC following the company’s earnings call Monday that he expects European airfares to rise by 10%, and maybe even 20% next year, potentially dealing another blow to Americans hoping to visit multiple European destinations without breaking the bank. Americans made nearly 24 million trips to Europe in 2025, a 5% increase from the previous year. Summer is one of the busiest tourist seasons for the region, and this year the European aviation network handled an average of 35,959 flights per day between June and August, a 2.4% increase from last year, according to The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. But the Iran war, now in its ninth month, has disrupted global supply…
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