Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said airfare prices are likely to rise over the next five years because flights have become too cheap to be profitable as industry costs rise.

His warning came amid rising ticket prices in Europe and the US as passengers returned from coronavirus flight blockages and some airlines cut capacity due to staff shortages.

In an interview with the Financial Times, he said: “It’s got too cheap for what it is. I find it absurd every time that I fly to Stansted, the train journey into central London is more expensive than the air fare."

According to the head of the airline, the combination of high oil prices and environmental fees will cause Ryanair's average fare to rise from 40 euros to 50-60 euros in the medium term.

He also criticized the UK government and Brexit, calling it a catastrophe that has prevented airlines from easily hiring European workers and thereby exacerbated the shortage of staff this summer.

“It has been my doing [making air travel cheap]. I made a lot of money doing it. But ultimately, I don’t believe air travel is sustainable over the medium term at an average fare of €40. It’s too cheap at that. But I think, you know, it will still be very cheap and affordable at €50 and €60," he told the FT.