Airlines bask in high fares while airports stay stuck

Airports lack the flexibility to raise prices on fees and tariffs that are fixed, regulated or commercially negotiated

Dublin Airport is also wrestling with regulators and airlines on the increase in fees it can charge airlines. Picture: Stephen Collins /Collins 

Soaring ticket prices are lining the pockets of the world’s biggest airlines, providing a balm to the economic wounds suffered during the travel lockdowns of covid-19. But as the industry takes off, airports say they have been forgotten at the gate.

Flying will be far more expensive this summer, according to corporate travel manager American Express Global Business Travel, which analysed tens of thousands of client transactions on international flights to and from Asian destinations.