Soaring fuel prices mean the age of ultra-low airfares are over, Ryanair's boss warned yesterday.

Michael O'Leary said the airline's trademark €1 and €10 euro fares will not be seen for a "number of years" due to soaring fuel prices.

He expects Ryanair's average fare to rise by about €10 over the next five years, from around €40 last year to roughly €50 by 2027 - and that "many millions" of people will ditch more expensive carriers as flight prices rise across the board.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't think there's going to be €10 flights any more because oil prices are significantly higher as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our average fare, which last year was €40...we think that will edge up to €50 in the next five years.

"There's no doubt that at the lower end of the marketplace, our really cheap promotional fares - the €1 fares, the 99cent fares, even the €9.99 fares - I think you will not see those fares for the next number of years.

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"We think people will continue to fly frequently but I think people are going to become much more price sensitive and, therefore, my view of life is that people will trade down in their many millions."

Travel experts say that the price increase is being caused by a combination of rampant inflation and a surge in demand since the end of lockdown restrictions.

But the impact of long periods of grounded flights, rising costs and savage air industry job cuts during the crisis have left some carriers struggling to meet the demand.

However, Mr O'Leary said he had "very little sympathy" for airports which have been mired in chaos, saying they knew schedules months in advance. He also accused Heathrow, which has been one of the worst affected airports and which has capped the number of passengers coming to the airport over the summer, of "mismanagement".

The Ryanair chief added: "People are going to get much more price sensitive on energy. You're looking at inflation that's double digits in the UK, it's not just energy, it's food, its rent, it's going to be almost everything the normal family is purchasing.

"History has taught us that you enter into a period of inflation...it greatly damages people on lower incomes, because there's no way that salaries and social welfare payments will keep track of inflation. It's only when you get inflation under control that you have real growth in wages, real growth in social welfare payments, and a better economy and a better lifestyle for your citizens."