Michael O'Leary, managing director of Ryanair, announced on October 20 in Brussels that air tickets could rise by 10% to 20% in Europe by 2027. He points to three causes: the price of kerosene, the end of contracts that protected companies against this rise and the reduction in the number of seats.
In France, prices are already rising: according to the Directorate-General for Civil Aviation (DGAC), air tickets from France rose 10.6% in a year in September 2026, with +12.1% on international connections and +3.7% on domestic flights. According to FNAM, the French aviation federation, kerosene went from around $750 per ton before the conflict in the Middle East to $1,550 on average in September. Fuel usually represents close to a third of the companies' operating costs.
<
p style="text-align: justify;">Ryanair had guaranteed 80% of its fuel needs at $67 a barrel until March 2027 and is now covered at only 15%. Bankruptcies, sector concentration and route suppression are expected to reduce supply in 2027, and the company itself announced the cancellation of 20 routes and more than one million seats in Belgium in the winter program.
The price of the plane ticket becomes a central factor in the choice of the destination of the French for 2027, at a time when the budget is already the first brake on travel. For Portugal, price increases and route cuts must be closely monitored with operators and agencies that schedule the destination.
