Tickets had been abnormally cheap a year ago, and are now back to fluctuations, sometimes month-to-month, and overall have gone up markedly in 2025, the airport added.

According to Tallinn Airport, ticket prices have indeed risen 10–13 percent on year, but this was the result mainly of a glut in supply a year ago.

"There is always a base for price growth. Last year our passenger numbers grew by almost 20 percent, meaning the market was flooded with cheap tickets and the price base was so low that some routes were not profitable and were eventually shut down. This year the market is stabilizing, meaning prices are growing slightly — but the feedback we get from airlines is very positive: the current price level motivates them to keep flying and also to expand," said Tallinn Airport board member Eero Pärgmäe.

He added that the current pricing environment appears more sustainable for airlines, encouraging route continuity and expansion.

"We have been seeing fewer ultra-cheap tickets, of which there were many last year, plus fewer of the very expensive ones [too]. But the mid-range is relatively stable — for example, if you're buying tickets to Europe with a stopover in Frankfurt or Stockholm, those prices have actually risen by 7–8 percent. So the growth has been relatively small," Pärgmäe went on.

Overall, when set alongside inflation in general, air travel has actually become more affordable to people, Pärgmäe added. "In the last five years, airfares in Europe have risen by 33 percent. The rise in Estonia is roughly the same, over 30 percent. At the same time, our overall prices have risen by 51 percent. So if you ask why people fly so much, this is because flying has become relatively cheaper. October at our airport was the second-best in our history, which shows that today's prices strongly encourage flying," Pärgmäe said.

In other words, despite nominal fare increases, the real cost of flying compared with general price growth has declined, supporting continued demand.

"Price rises have happened across all segments, only more in some and less in others. Cheap tickets are rarer because airlines have offered fewer seats in Estonia this year. Competition between the transfer hubs is strong, but they sell mid-range tickets — not the very cheapest. Meanwhile, the very lowest fares also mean that those routes may not be profitable for airlines and may simply be closed one day," Pärgmäe continued.

These dynamics, he noted, reflect broader market adjustments across different fare segments.

Seasonal variation has also played a major role. Peak season is summer, bringing the costliest prices, but fall also provides a mini-peak too, Bank of Estonia economist Lauri Matsulevitš noted.

"We saw the same pattern this October, when prices rose 47 percent month-to-month. Last year we saw a similar pattern, where the price growth eased in November," Matsulevitš said. This spike coincides with the school half-term break.

Travel industry representatives have observed parallel behavioral trends among passengers. Travel agency Estravel meanwhile reports people increasingly buying their plane tickets at the last minute; last-minute prices are undoubtedly higher. At the same time, the half-term trips are becoming increasingly plush.

"The school holiday affects October — school holiday trips are in high demand. These are families who want to give their children something nice, so they choose more expensive options than at other times. Now we also have a long Christmas period coming up — again high demand, and prices are higher. And in general, when holidays and days off line up, that's a peak period," Estravel senior travel consultant Aive Vološtšuk said.

"One more trend is that people are buying their tickets later. We see that tickets are more expensive one to two months out, and people buy relatively late. If you look at ticket prices 90 days — three months — ahead, and even 180 days ahead, prices are quite similar to last year. But people's purchase decisions somehow happen later," Pärgmäe said.

For this reason, he recommends buying tickets for flights inside Europe about three months in advance to secure better fares.

Meanwhile, airlines themselves confirm the overall trend of gradual price growth. No-frills Irish carrier Ryanair reports that over the past six months the average ticket price has increased by 13 percent. Latvian airline airBaltic's third-quarter ticket prices rose by 10.7 percent, while passenger numbers were down 5 percent over the same period.

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