Airfares may rise sooner than expected on higher oil prices: IATA chief

Airports are also facing staff shortages even as passenger demand continues to soar

Dubai: The recent surge in oil prices may reflect in flight ticket prices sooner than expected, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

“Typically, we would have said that an increasing oil price takes about six months to find its way through into ticket pricing, but given the very rapid increase that we have seen, I think it’s likely to be reflected in ticket pricing a lot earlier,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, during a media briefing.This is also because “advance sales are at a much lower volume now than they would traditionally be”, he added.

Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, oil prices briefly crossed the $130 barrel mark last month. Brent crude is currently trading at $107, up 78 per cent from levels seen last year.

“The higher price is a challenge, but I don’t see it as being a challenge that the industry will not be able to face given the sort of challenges we faced in the past,” said Walsh. “Airlines know what they need to do and will respond quickly to the challenges.”