• The route between Palma de Mallorca and Newcastle has seen the biggest drop in fares, 92.6%, currently averaging at €20 
• Flying between Spain and Australia is 64.6% more expensive than two years ago, on average €1,303

Barcelona, ​​August 5, 2021 – The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to fluctuating flight fares in destinations around the world. From Spain, the United Kingdom tops the list of destinations where the price drop has been most pronounced this year compared to 2019, with a 62% drop and an average price of €92.60 per ticket. The cost of flights to Ireland, averaging €104.07 in 2021, has dropped by 55%, while Peru, Jordan and Bolivia complete the TOP 5 with 47.7%, 46% and 42.4%, respectively, according to data from Kiwi.com, the leading online travel technology company.

Specifically, the route between Palma de Mallorca and Newcastle has the most significant decrease in fares – 92.6% –  averaging at €20. Flights between Ibiza and Leeds and Malaga and Liverpool also exceed 90%. In the 80% decrease range are the routes between Santander and London – 88.4% – and between Tenerife and Nottingham  88.2%.  In global terms, this trend has been followed by flights between Montenegro and Austria, which have seen drops of 75.8% this year compared to 2019, and flights from Italy to Iran and the United Kingdom, with more than 70% decrease.   

The destinations that have seen the cost of transport from Spain increase are mainly long-haul. Flying to Australia, which currently has fares 64.5% more expensive, costs, on average this year, €1303. The same pattern is followed by flights to Nicaragua, which have risen by 41.2%, and Venezuela, costing 32.3% more. Surprisingly, the route that has become the most expensive in 2021 is between Malaga and Tetouan, in Morocco, with an astronomical increase of 668.7%. 

“The reasons for these price increases are mostly related to a significant decrease in airline capacity due to the health crisis. In the case of short and medium-haul flights,  low-cost airlines stopped certain direct routes with no alternative airline operating the same route, which can translate into a dramatic increase in ticket prices. On the positive side, we have seen certain low-cost carriers massively increasing their capacity, especially on intra-European routes, and offering extremely aggressive prices to stimulate demand, which allows travellers to benefit from unprecedented low fares to many European destinations, ” said Mario Gavira, Vice President of Growth for Kiwi.com.

Australia is also ranked first for international bookings that have increased significantly in price. Flight fares between Vietnam and Australia have soared by 284%, while those between India and Australia have risen by 181.3%.

Apart from the fall and rise in prices, the most popular destinations among Spaniards so far this year are Bucharest, London, Vienna and Berlin and, domestically, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza, a selection that does not vary much from that of 2020 and 2019. From the global perspective, new destinations came on top taking the places of the traditionally most popular destinations. Istanbul, Kyiv and Moscow feature in the top spot, leaving major hubs, such as Barcelona, Madrid and Vienna, out of the TOP 10. In ninth place in 2019 and 11th place in 2020, Bangkok has fallen to 95th place this year. New destinations that have appeared for the first time in the top 100 include numerous U.S. destinations (Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Diego, Tampa, Dallas), Puerto Rico (San Juan), Colombia (Cali, Cartagena), Brazil (Sao Paulo), Lithuania (Vilnius), Greece (Corfu, Heraklion), Georgia (Tbilisi), Russia (Sochi), Ukraine (Odesa) and Australia (Melbourne). 

About Kiwi.com

Kiwi.com is a leading travel tech company founded in 2012. Its proprietary algorithm – Virtual Interlining – allows users to build unique itineraries to combine flights and ground transportation from more than 800 carriers and connects many that do not have commercial agreements. Kiwi.com powers more than 100 million searches every day and employs 2,000 people worldwide.

Kiwi.com Media Contacts

Carol Barnes, Head of Global Communications, Kiwi.com
[email protected]