Ryanair chief says high jet fuel costs may keep fares up until 2028

Ryanair Group chief executive Michael O'Leary said European travellers could face higher ticket prices well into 2028, blaming elevated jet fuel costs tied to the Iran conflict. He spoke in Brussels on October 8, 2026.

At an Airlines for Europe press conference, O'Leary said jet fuel is trading at roughly half again what it cost before the war began, and he expects prices to stay near that level for the next 12 to 18 months. Reuters reported it was the first time an airline executive had publicly raised the prospect of the impact stretching to 2028.

Fuel costs have weighed on carrier margins through 2026, even for airlines that hedged against price swings. The squeeze will get tighter in 2027, O'Leary said, because many carriers hold hedges covering a much smaller share of their fuel needs for that year. "We are all facing an enormous cost challenge next year," he told reporters.

He dismissed concerns about a possible jet fuel shortage in Europe in the fourth quarter. He sees no supply risk this winter or next summer. The problem, he said, is price rather than availability.

Airlines cannot absorb the higher bills and will have to pass them to passengers, O'Leary said. He called the situation a full-blown crisis, and has previously suggested fares could climb by as much as 20 percent next summer. Reuters noted that many airlines at the conference have already begun raising ticket prices to offset fuel costs.

Other executives at the event included the heads of Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, easyJet, Aer Lingus and IAG, the parent of British Airways. The airline leaders also addressed a recent attack on a flydubai flight, in which the first officer repeatedly stabbed the captain in what investigators suspect was an attempt to bring down the aircraft.