Ryanair won't be offering flights at rock-bottom prices in the near future, thanks to the soaring cost of fuel.

The budget airline's chief executive Michael O'Leary says that era is over, at least for now.

The company's average fare would rise from around €40 (£33) last year to roughly €50 (£42) over the next five years, he told the BBC.

But he says he believes people will continue to fly frequently, despite the rising cost of living.

"There's no doubt that, at the lower end of the marketplace, our really-cheap promotional fares - the one euro fares, the 0.99 euro fares, even the 9.99 euro fares - I think you will not see those fares for the next number of years," said Mr O'Leary.

"We think people will continue to fly frequently. But I think people are going to become much more price sensitive - and therefore my view of life is that people will trade down in their many millions."

As airfares have become cheaper in recent decades, the number of flights taken has risen, with more people taking short breaks abroad, on top of an annual holiday. Airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, Vueling and Wizz Air have competed to offer low-cost services.

Global CO2 emissions

Commercial flights now account for around 2.4% of global CO2 emissions, and the sector is facing pressure to reduce its impact on the climate, including campaigns to persuade people to switch to rail and road travel.

However, Mr O'Leary argued road transport and shipping were bigger contributors of CO2 overall, and said the focus on reducing emissions from air travel was "misplaced".

He said Ryanair was investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft, but that greater reductions in fossil-fuel use would come from the switch from petrol and diesel to electric road vehicles.

Meanwhile, one of the world's largest tour operators, TUI, has taken a 75million euro (£63million) hit in the third quarter from flight disruption across Europe - pushing it into the red.

Incoming chief executive Sebastian Ebel said there would be significant but lower costs related to air disruption in the fourth quarter, with air traffic normalising in recent days.

"The whole system is still very fragile, and we have days with hardly any disruptions, and we have weeks and days with a lot of disruptions," said Mr Ebel, who is replacing long-time chief Friedrich Joussen in October.

The extra costs however come as demand holds up, with summer holiday bookings on track to reach near pre-pandemic levels in 2022. The group still expects to return to significant profits this year.

Underlying operating losses at TUI

Reuters says the German company, which runs tour operators, travel agencies, airlines, hotels and cruise liners in holiday destinations across the world, reported underlying operating losses of 27million euros (£22million) for the three months to June 30.

Without the costs related to the roughly 200 flight cancellations the company suffered, mainly affecting departures from Manchester Airport, TUI said it would have made adjusted operating profits of 48million euros (£40million) in the quarter.

Airports across Europe have seen chaotic scenes in the past few months as staff shortages led to long queues and flight cancellations, while labour strife added to the travel sector's woes.

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