The most expensive summer break ever? Cost of flights soars by 30% in just one month as Brits jet off abroad on holiday while inflation continues to bite at home

Families flying abroad for their summer holidays saw plane ticket costs surge by nearly a third in just one month in the biggest such increase on record.

Air fares soared by 30.2 per cent between June and July - the largest jump between those months since the collection of monthly data began 24 years ago.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today that the increase was significantly above the 13.3 per cent rate recorded between the same months in 2024.

Experts believe the hike could have been influenced by the timing of the school summer holidays this year which may have made European flights more expensive.

This is because the collection day for the ONS data this year overlapped with the start of the school holidays for some areas - while last year it was during the school term.

The annual rise in air fares, comparing July 2025 against July 2024, was 15.5 per cent - up from a 0.5 per cent annual rise in June and a 3.9 per cent annual fall in May.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said British travellers had 'ringfenced budgets to enjoy themselves on holiday' and were 'willing to shell out for expensive seats on planes'.

Nicholas Hyett, Wealth Club investment manager, accepted some of the rise in air fares was down to timing, but added: 'Airlines have been talking about a capacity crunch for a while now and higher costs are the inevitable outcome.'

Meanwhile David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said economists 'can argue that the rise in air fares may be a one-off'.

The ONS said its inflation data release today: 'The rise in the annual rate reflected a large upward effect from airfares which rose by 30.2 per cent between June and July 2025, compared with a rise of 13.3 per cent between the same months in 2024.

'The monthly rise in July 2025 is the largest July increase since collection of airfares changed from quarterly to monthly in 2001 and was probably influenced by the timing of school summer holidays.

'Returning European flights were during the school term in 2024, whereas returning European flights were during the school holidays in 2025, which may have made these flights more expensive.'

Ryanair revealed in a financial update last month that its average fare rose by 21 per cent year-on-year to €51 (£44) in the three months to the end of June.

The budget airline – which carried a record number of passengers last month - also reported better-than-expected fares for last-minute bookings.

The Irish carrier additionally said it was seeing fares rebound after it cut them by 7 per cent in its previous financial year as under-pressure consumers reined in spending.

Meanwhile easyJet said last month that it carried 25.9million passengers between April and June, up 2.2 per cent year-on-year.

The company also reported a headline pre-tax profit of £286million between those months - an improvement of £50 million compared with a year earlier.

In May, easyJet said the number of passengers it carried in the first three months of the year was 18.2million, up 8 per cent compared with a year ago.

It comes as package holiday firm On the Beach claimed today that last-minute summer holiday bookings have surged by an 'unprecedented' 93 per cent in the past week.

The firm said a further ten million Brits are considering heading abroad within the next seven days as they look to squeeze in a holiday before September.

The number of Brits booking last minute holidays leaving in less than a week has risen by almost 25 per cent on average compared to last year, according to the firm.

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Zoe Harris, chief customer officer at On the Beach, told the Mail: 'Late summer holidays are having a moment. Families deep into the school break are turning to getaways that work out cheaper than keeping kids entertained in the UK.'

She added: 'Approximately ten million Brits are expected to book holidays departing in the next seven days, an unprecedented surge in demand this late in the season.

'In the history of British holidays, we've never seen such a rush for last-minute sunshine.'

The business believes the increase in bookings is because of two main factors - late summer flight prices have fallen, and the forecast next week in Britain is for wet and windy weather.

The rise in air fares last month combined with food prices continuing to climb saw UK inflation rise by more than expected in July.

Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation increased to 3.8 per cent in July, from 3.6 per cent in June. Most economists had been forecasting inflation to rise to 3.7 per cent.

It means the headline rate remained at the highest level since January 2024, when it hit 4 per cent.

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The ONS said transport was the biggest factor driving up overall inflation last month, particularly due to a spike in flight prices as families booked trips during the school summer holidays.

The average price of petrol rose by 2p per litre between June and July, and the average diesel price by 2.9p per litre over the period.

Prices across UK restaurants and hotels also increased last month, largely driven by a jump in overnight hotel stays booked the night before.

Food and drink inflation rose to 4.9 per cent in July, from 4.5 per cent in June.

The Bank of England is expecting CPI inflation to continue rising to a peak of 4 per cent in September, before price rises start to ease. The central bank is tasked with keeping inflation at 2 per cent.