Package holiday prices in the EU were 3.2% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, matching overall inflation, while passenger air transport prices fell by 0.4%.
The figures are based on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), the EU’s standard measure of inflation that compares price changes across member states, Eurostat reported on Friday.
It noted sharp month-to-month swings in airfares over the past two years, with a year-on-year rise of 13.7% in April 2025 followed by a fall of 3.2% in May 2025.
Flight prices continued to fluctuate in 2026, starting the year down 2.9% year-on-year, dropping 4.7% in April, then rising 8.1% in May.
Package holiday prices were 8.3% higher in January 2025 and 8.0% higher in February 2025 than in the same months of 2024, before the annual rate of change increased gradually.
Prices rose 7.7% in April 2025, then moved closer to the overall inflation rate between June and October 2025, before rising again.
Package holiday prices fell by 0.5% in April 2026 compared with April 2025, before recovering in subsequent months.
Which countries saw the biggest changes?
Flight prices rose the most in Greece (up 16.3%) and Ireland (up 14.4%) in August 2026 compared with August 2025, Eurostat said.
Ten EU countries recorded year-on-year declines in flight prices, led by Slovakia with a 61.2% drop, while other falls ranged from 15.8% in Spain to 0.9% in Lithuania.
Package holiday prices increased the most in Belgium, up 16.2% in August 2026 compared with a year earlier, followed by Portugal (14.3%), Sweden (12.8%), Lithuania (12.3%) and Romania (11.9%).
Four countries recorded annual declines in package holiday prices — Estonia (down 21.1%), Spain (down 5.2%), Italy (down 4.8%) and Ireland (down 0.4%).
