Michael O'Leary has warned the cost of Ryanair flights could rise by nearly 10% this summer due to soaring demand for European holidays.
He said holidaymakers should brace for prices to rise by a "high single-digit percent" over the peak season as demand for breaks on European beach resorts rebounds thanks to the lifting of pandemic travel restrictions.
The budget airline's chief executive also said there were likely to be ongoing delays at airports, for which he blamed staff shortages.
It comes as departing passengers at Dublin Airport aired their frustration online over "two-hour" security queues over the weekend.
There were lengthy delays in both terminals on Sunday evening and some flights were delayed as a result.
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The queues in recent weeks have been attributed to delays at screening during peak times, with the airport saying it is trying to bounce back from the Covid pandemic.
A spokesman for the Dublin Airport Authority said: "In recent weeks, more than 90% of passengers have got through security in less than 30 minutes, with 98% getting through in less than 45 minutes.
"However, while the potential remains for times longer than this, particularly at busy times, we continue to advise passengers to arrive up to two-and-a-half hours before a short-haul flight and three-and-a-half hours before a long-haul flight."
O'Leary said he hoped to see the worst of the delays ease off in time for the busy summer season, but stressed it would still be a "challenge" for passengers getting through airports in England. He said there are "pinch-points" in particular at Heathrow and Manchester airports, where he claimed "too many people" have been sacked.
Ryanair's price warning comes after holiday giant Tui last week said it would not be offering last-minute, low-price deals this summer due to a recovery in demand.
Ryanair signalled prices would ramp up over the next few months due to a cut of about 15% in European flight programmes over the summer. Mr O'Leary told BBC Radio 4: "For the September quarter at the moment, based on about 50% of all bookings, we expect prices will be up high single-digit percent.
"It seems to us that there will be higher prices into that peak summer period because there's so much demand for the beaches of Europe and those price rises are going to continue."
The group said its peak fares this summer may rise above pre-pandemic prices. Ryanair reported annual underlying losses dropping to €355m and said it hopes to return to "resonable profitability" in the current financial year.
