FLIGHT prices to Spanish airports have dropped almost across the board for the whole of the summer in a bid to encourage passengers at a time when many would-be travellers are reluctant to leave home.
On average, air travel is 6% cheaper at the moment, based upon price reductions for flights in June and the first half of July, and those on sale or already sold for the rest of July, August, and September.
But cost cuts vary by airport, and can be as much as 30% lower than usual.
The biggest price falls have been seen for planes travelling to and from Barcelona, a city which traditionally welcomes thousands of foreign tourists year-round, and to a lesser extent but still significantly – at least 20% - for flights out of and into Alicante airport and the Canarian island of Tenerife.
Online travel agency Rumbo says the reduced fees – compared with summer 2019 – differ between the various airlines and are not standard, but that many carriers are opting to slash their prices to boost the market.
As well as the fear of contagion and of further outbreaks of Covid-19, people who fly to and from Spain year-round – as opposed to summer tourists – tend to avoid these peak months due to rocketing prices and prefer to fly either before mid-May or leave it until the end of September.
Prices for the Balearic Islands – a hotspot for summer visitors from the UK, Germany, Italy and France - have remained largely stable compared with the key tourism months in 2019, but even then, some reductions can be found: About 2% to 8% off for Menorca flights, for example.
For those afraid of flying at present because they believe airline cabins to be fertile territory for spreading and catching infections, the Spanish Airlines Association has already reassured the public this is not the case; in fact, the inside of a plane may even be one of the safest places to be in times of Coronavirus – find out how and why here.
This said, Operations Director for the flight complaints and compensations board, Reclamación de Vuelos, Ekaitz Bacelo, warns a few carriers are 'trying it on': Having initially cancelled flights due to take off in July and August, expecting the pandemic would prevent anyone travelling, they are now putting the same flights back on sale for much higher prices, sometimes up to three times the cost of the original ticket.
Bacelo says his office has received 'around 100' complaints which have been 'shown to be valid'.
At least one of the airlines mentioned has hotly denied this practice and said Reclamación de Vuelos' accusations are 'completely false'.
