Families face half-term price hikes as air fares soar

Image via Shutterstock

Travellers will be hit by “the perfect storm” of the start of half-term and Valentine’s Day falling on the same weekend.

The average cost of flights on the weekend of February 13 is nearly 200% more than flights departing two weeks later, according to the study by online bureau de change FairFX.

The biggest mark-up, of 762%, was on a flight travelling from Manchester to Verona on February 13. The second biggest mark-up was on a flight from London to the Austrian ski gateway of Salzburg, which cost 739% more.

An investigation by the Times last week revealed that Center Parcs in the UK during February half-term was 194% more expensive than in Holland

France, Holland and Germany have different school holiday dates regionally so there are no significant mark-ups during the year.

Under rule changes introduced two years ago schools can fine parents £60 for each child taken out of school for a week, meaning a family with four children faces a £240 bill for a week’s holiday.

However, while unauthorised absences have fallen, many parents still opt to take their children away in term time because the savings are usually greater than the fines.

Paul Cookson, a father whose Facebook protest about the cost of holidays during half-term went viral two years ago and ended up being debated in Westminster, told the newspaper: “I understand that demand pushes up prices but as a parent, that doesn’t stop it being a major frustration.”