EasyJet charging passengers up to £860 for return flight from Birmingham to Belfast

Easyjet has been accused of cashing in on FlyBe’s collapse by charging more for some domestic routes than flying to Australia.

The airline is charging customers up to £860 for a return flight from Birmingham to Belfast next weekend.

But long haul flyers can currently get to Australia and back for just over £600.

FlyBe went into administration last week and passengers have since taken to social media to complain about EasyJet’s price hikes on many of Flybe’s former routes.

A one-way flight from the Isle of Man to Liverpool has rocketed to £470, despite the flight only being in the air for around 20 minutes.

A flight from Glasgow to Belfast for this weekend will set customers back £354, and a return from Edinburgh to Bristol could set passengers back by up to £563. 

A Bristol to Glasgow return this weekend will cost up to £331, and a one-way flight from Manchester to Belfast this week is on the market for as much as £310.

One social media user posted a picture of a price hike online, captioning: ‘£860 to fly from Birmingham to Belfast.

‘Way to stick the arm in @easyJet following the collapse of @flybe. Travelling to Northern Ireland is going to get very expensive!’ 

British Airways will fly tourists from London Heathrow to Sydney, Australia, with one connection flight in Singapore, on Friday for a week from just £627.

They will also fly passengers from Heathrow to the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean on the same dates, with just one stopover, for £613.

For the same week, Lufthansa is selling flights to Cape Town, South Africa, from £436 – with just one stop off in Munich.

Another furious customer said they bought Flybe tickets from Belfast to Birmingham for £65 two weeks ago, which easyJet have now hiked up to £535.

He posted a screenshot on Twitter, writing: ‘I appreciate costs go up due to demand. But I booked these flights two weeks ago (before Flybe close) for £65 return.

‘But can EasyJet really get away with charging this now people have no other choice?’

A third social media user posted a snap from easyJet’s website, saying: ‘Look at the effect the demise of Flybe has had on Island communities and the profiteering by @easyJet – £382 for a 20 min flight from the Isle of Man to Liverpool mid-week and £151 return as the cheapest.

‘Flybe had the contract to fly cancer patients to/from LPL. Profiteering and holding Island communities who rely on these links to ransom is completely unacceptable.

‘I know. Some of the fares I have seen are over £500 from the Isle of Man to Liverpool at short notice on an Island Facebook page. No shame.’

Sharing a screenshot of a one-way flight for £310, a fourth social media user added: ‘EasyJet, how can you justify the price of a flight from Manchester to Belfast at costing that? Seriously? Capitalising off Flybe going out of business much? 

An Easyjet spokesman told MailOnline: ‘As with all airlines, our pricing is demand-led, which means that as more seats are booked on a flight the price will rise so our fares start low and increase the closer it is to the date of departure. 

‘The fares highlighted are a direct result of high demand for flights due to convenient scheduled flight times so fares automatically increase as seats on the aircraft are booked. 

‘We do not artificially increase ticket prices. easyJet currently has fares available throughout March from the Isle of Man to Liverpool starting from £24.99 from Birmingham to Belfast from £49.99 and Manchester to Belfast from £56.99.’ 

Flybe went into administration after a bid for fresh financial support failed.

The Exeter-based airline, which operated almost 40% of UK domestic flights, collapsed as the Government stalled on a controversial £100m loan.

Manchester, Southampton and Birmingham airports had the highest number of Flybe departures, with more than 200 flights each a week.

Around 80 percent of the flights from Belfast City airport were operated by Flybe.

The firm’s collapse last week saw around 2,300 people lose their jobs and left thousands of passengers stranded across Europe.

Some holidaymakers told how they were kicked off planes after hours of waiting on the tarmac waiting for take-off.  

Flybe went into administration after a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus ‘made a difficult situation worse’. 

The firm had been in financial difficulties and was saved from going bust by the Government earlier this year. 

A series of issues had affected the airline’s finances, including rising fuel costs, falling demand, competition from road, rail and other airlines, plus a weakening of the pound. 

It was bought by a consortium comprising Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital in February 2019, but continued to make losses.

As part of the January rescue deal, it agreed an arrangement to defer tax payments of ‘less than £10 million’ with HM Revenue and Customs. 

Ministers also agreed to hold a review into Air Passenger Duty (APD).

APD adds £26 to the price of most return domestic flights such as those operated by Flybe.

Flybe served around 170 destinations and had a major presence at UK airports such as Aberdeen, Belfast City, Manchester and Southampton. 

It flew the most UK domestic routes between airports outside London.

Cabin crew working on one of Flybe’s last ever flights told passengers they hoped to take-off before authorities ‘change their mind’ during the carrier’s chaotic final hours.

Confused staff were heard apologising for delays over the on-board loud speaker as it emerged the airline had plunged into administration while others were told they had lost their jobs as planes sat on the runway. 

Final flights were either grounded minutes before take-off or diverted to the nearest airport in mid-air so the planes could be impounded. 

Passengers were sent texts at 2am informing them of cancellations.

One air hostess was recorded on a Belfast bound flight as it sat on the tarmac at Manchester airport thanking passengers ‘for their patience’ while they worked through a ‘difficult situation with the airport authorities and the airlines management.’

She added: ‘We are so sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you and we thank you very much for your patience. 

‘We are getting ready to go now, so please make sure all your phones are back off, seatbelts are back on, and we shall get moving as soon as we possibly can before they change their mind.’