A fall in domestic, European, and long-haul fares contributed to a fall in UK inflation to 1.7% in the year to September.
This is the first time the rate has fallen below the Bank of England’s target of 2% for more than three years.
The Office for National Statistics said monthly airfares fell by more than a third against the 23.2% fall in monthly prices in September last year.
“Fares usually reduce in price between August and September. However, this was the fifth largest fall since the monthly collection of prices began in 2001,” the ONS added.
“While September 2024 saw a notable monthly fall in price, monthly airfares in August 2024 rose by the second highest amount in August since 2001. This was driven largely by increases in European airfares.
“In contrast, monthly airfares fell in August 2023, which is only the second time that prices have fallen between July and August. This led to a large rise in the airfares index between August 2023 and August 2024.
“The combination of the large rise in the airfares index between August 2023 and August 2024, and the notable fall in the air fares index between September 2023 and September 2024, led to the second largest downward contribution to the change in the 12-month rate for airfares since at least 2002.”
Petrol prices also dropped but households were hit by a jump in food and non-alcoholic drink inflation, with stronger price increases for milk, cheese, eggs and fruit.