Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr has warned that Covid is likely to impact the much-loved cheap fares, which are unlikely to exist next year.

The boss of Lufthansa has said flights are likely to increase next year – following Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary’s warningCredit: Reuters

He told the Telegraph: “I believe that prices were too low before Covid. €9 or £9 [for a flight] from the UK to Portugal is not healthy for the industry, not healthy for our environment.”

He cites the pandemic causing many airlines to struggle during the lockdowns to being the reason behind the increse in prices.

His comments follow Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary warning of similar expensive price hikes.

The budget airline chief told The Sunday Times: “I think there will be a dramatic recovery in holiday tourism within Europe next year.

“And the reason why I think prices will be dramatically higher is that there’s less capacity.”

He said reduced flights for summer getaway have already been hit by Flybe and Norwegian Air UK going bust, while Alitalia is reducing its fleet by 40 per cent.

a dramatic recovery in demand.”

With consumers also warned to prepare for rising inflation costs, Ryanair prices will be slashed this winter to “grab market share everywhere”, O’Leary vowed.

Despite this, holidays and flights are still at record lows due to the pandemic, as some travel restrictions remain in place.

We’ve found cheap holidays to Turkey, recently removed from the red list, for as little as £158pp.

And with the latest UK Covid restrictions being lifted, Brits no longer have to pay for a pre-arrival test to return to the country after a holiday – saving families hundreds of pounds.

Cheap flights to Europe may be a thing of the past

Credit: Alamy