October airfares rose by the highest amount in more than two decades as UK inflation jumped.
The consumer prices index rose by 2.3% in the year to October, an increase from 1.7% in September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Inflation was driven up most by housing costs, reflecting the rise in gas and electricity, with smaller climbs in transport, furniture costs and restaurants.
The largest drag on prices came from declining inflation in the recreation and leisure sector, whose contribution to the prices basket was the smallest in two years.
However, the ONS said: “Although monthly prices for airfares in October tend to fall, the monthly price in October 2024 rose by 6.3%.
“This was the highest rise in October since monthly price collection began in 2001 and was driven largely by increases in European air fares.
“In contrast, the fall of 5.4% in October 2023 was the lowest since October 2016.
“As a result, prices rose by 6.6% in the year to October 2024, compared with a fall of 5% in the year to September 2024.”
The rise in the annual rate across transportation was mainly the result of upward effects from second-hand cars and from airfares, but this was partly offset by lower prices for motor fuels, the ONS noted.