It’s not the first time we’ve talked about it but the trend, unfortunately, shows no signs of changing: flying during the Christmas holidays is a luxury which, for some Italian destinations, can become truly unsustainable. According to a survey conducted by Altroconsumothe prices of domestic flights record much higher increases than those for foreign flights, reaching peaks of up to 1,000%.
Altroconsumo analyzed the costs of return flights from Milan and Rome to 12 destinations (national and otherwise)both during holiday periods and in low season, recording a total of 500 prices.
The survey was conducted considering the first five cheapest flights for each route, selected using the Skyscanner search engine. Subsequently, the average price for each route was calculated. The data was collected between November 20th and 21st.
But let’s now see what he discovered specifically.
The results
For a return trip during the Christmas holidays (from 20 December to 2 January), the average cost found in the destinations included in the survey stands at 214 euros. It is important to underline that this is an average, while for some routes much higher figures are recorded, as highlighted in the graph shown below.
Furthermore, prices may be underestimated, as Skyscanner does not always include all extra costs, such as baggage costs, in the results.
The most expensive flights are exclusively domestic destinations, especially departures from Milan. At the top of the ranking for high fares are connections to Sicily, followed by those directed to other regions of Southern Italy.
Sicily: the most penalized region
Among the routes analysed, Sicily emerges as the most affected by price increases. The Milan-Catania flight, for example, recorded an average cost of 34 euros in mid-January versus 389 euros during the Christmas holidays, with an increase of 1,031%. Altroconsumo writes:
In the worst case, the ticket from Milan to Catania would have cost us on average 34 euros in mid-January and 389 euros at Christmas, 1,031% more, i.e. eleven times as much. For a family of three people (in the other hypothesized scenario), we would have arrived at 1,284 euros for the Milan-Catania, 653% more compared to the 171 euros of another period that we could define as mid-season (the one that includes some holidays Carnival schools, in February-March 2025).
The most expensive routes are mainly those that connect with the islands and other regions of Southern Italy, where the lack of transport alternatives plays a fundamental role in the surge in prices.
In fact, very significant increases are recorded in destinations such as Calabria, Campania and Puglia. These are the most expensive flights, in order of price:
In the following infographic you can see the cost of a return flight for the Christmas-New Year holidays.
Comparison with the low season
On average, a return flight for the Christmas period costs 214 euros, compared to 76 euros in the low season, with an average increase of 184%. However, for some routes the gap is even more marked. Among the most significant increases:
Even flights to Sardinia, although with less extreme increases, show significant increases, such as +255% for the Milan-Cagliari route.
Italy vs abroad
Practically, during the Christmas period, traveling abroad is decidedly cheaper than domestic routes. While international flights record an average increase in prices of 100% compared to the low season, for domestic Italian flights the average increase exceeds 225%, with some routes tripling or quadrupling the costs.
On Altroconsumo it reads:
Looking at the most extreme examples, we have a Rome-London for 92 euros against a Milan-Catania for 389 eurosalmost 300 euros more: the ticket to go to Sicily for the end-of-year holidays essentially costs over four times as much as the ticket to go to England.
And think that in reality – and it is paradoxical – flight prices during the Christmas period have dropped compared to those of last year. Altroconsumo writes:
Only one positive note in our findings: the prices of flights during the holiday period analyzed this year – although remaining high – nevertheless decreased compared to last year’s survey, by 14%.
Despite this, it is clear that the price increases observed for some routes are truly excessive and disproportionate and in many cases prevent families from being able to return home for the holidays. Altroconsumo has already sent the results of the investigation to the Antitrust, which is investigating the phenomenon and the use of pricing algorithms for flights to Sicily and Sardinia.
But why these increases?
The main reasons for the disproportionate increase in flight prices during the holiday season are, second Altroconsumo, related to:
