Expect the cost of your airfare to continue to rise, an aviation trade group and industry heads warn

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The cost of your next flight is likely to go up. That’s the word from the International Air Transport Association, which held its annual meeting Monday in Dubai, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates. While carriers recover from the groundings worldwide from the coronavirus pandemic, industry leaders told journalists that there are several costs likely to push those ticket prices ever higher. Part of that comes from worldwide inflation, an ongoing problem since the pandemic started. Jet fuel costs, roughly a third of all airline expenses, remains high. Meanwhile, a global push for the aviation industry to decarbonize has more carriers fighting for the little amount of so-called sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, available in the market.