Airfares in Greece Rise Most in the EU in August 2026
Greece recorded the highest annual increase in passenger air transport prices in the European Union in August, with prices rising 16.3 percent compared with the same month in 2025, according to Eurostat.
The increase stands in sharp contrast to the EU as a whole, where passenger air transport prices fell 0.4 percent year-on-year.
Travel-related prices in Greece also rose in another category tracked by Eurostat. Package holiday prices increased 6.3 percent from August 2025, while overall consumer prices in the country, as measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), were 3.7 percent higher.
In other words, Greece’s overall inflation rate of 3.7 percent shows how much consumer prices generally had risen from a year earlier, while the Eurostat data show considerably stronger increases for air passenger transport and package holidays.
Greece stands out on air travel prices
Greece was followed by Ireland, where passenger air transport prices increased 14.4 percent year-on-year. At the other end of the scale, prices declined in 10 EU countries, with the largest drop recorded in Slovakia, at 61.2 percent, followed by Spain, at 15.8 percent.
The picture was different for package holidays. Greece’s 6.3 percent increase was well below the largest rises in the EU. Belgium recorded the highest increase at 16.2 percent, followed by Portugal at 14.3 percent, Sweden at 12.8 percent, Lithuania at 12.3 percent and Romania at 11.9 percent.
Package holiday prices declined in four countries: Estonia, Spain, Italy and Ireland.
Travel prices show different trends across EU
Across the EU, package holiday prices were 3.2 percent higher in August than a year earlier, matching the bloc’s overall inflation rate of 3.2 percent. Passenger air transport prices, by comparison, were 0.4 percent lower.
Eurostat’s longer-term data show that both categories have experienced considerable fluctuations since the beginning of 2025, particularly air travel.
In 2026 alone, EU passenger air transport prices started the year 2.9 percent lower than a year earlier and fell 4.7 percent in April, before rising 8.1 percent in May. Subsequent increases moderated before prices returned to a year-on-year decline in August.
Package holiday prices also fell briefly in April 2026, by 0.5 percent, before returning to annual growth in the following months.
The latest figures come as travel-related prices have also featured prominently in Greece’s broader inflation picture. A recent Eurobank Research analysis found that higher prices for package holidays and accommodation were among the main factors behind the acceleration of Greek inflation to 3.7 percent in August, from 2.7 percent in July.
Cre:gtp.gr
