Cith the arrival of spring, for millions of Italians the desire to organize the first real break of the year arises. However, this year the traditional booking ritual for Easter trips is turning into a cold shower. Those hoping to hug relatives again or treat themselves to a few days of relaxation in tourist resorts will have to deal with a price list that seems out of control. According to the most recent data, in fact, the increases on flights and trains for the first days of April 2026 have reached peaks that risk cutting off many families. This is not, however, the usual seasonal fluctuation, but of a perfect storm caused by international tensions and energy price increases.
Easter trips: flights at staggering prices
Looking at the data, traveling by plane in Italy has never been so expensive for this time of year. The analyzes on the most popular routes show figures that, in some cases, well exceed the threshold of 400 euros for a return flight. The routes that connect the North to the South and to the islands are those that suffer the most: to fly from Genoa to Catania you end up spending over 410 euros, while connections to Calabria and Puglia (such as those from Milan to Crotone or Brindisi) are consistently above 300 euros. The surge, however, does not only affect large metropolises, but also medium-sized airports. And if high demand quickly saturates available places, the real culprit behind these numbers is the cost of kerosenethe fuel used by airplanes, the price of which has skyrocketed due to geopolitical instability.
The silent increase in high speed
Those hoping to find refuge in rail transport will be disappointed. The train sector has also now adopted the so-called “dynamic pricing”the algorithm-based system that raises the cost of tickets as seats fill up and the departure date approaches. The same mechanism used by airlines, which makes booking quickly the only way to save.
There is no escape for those who leave: if flights reach peaks of 418 euros, high-speed trains follow suit. (Getty Images)
How much does it cost to go to the South by train
Therefore, currently, to travel on April 3, a one-way ticket on the backbone connecting Turin and Milan to Reggio Calabria it can cost between 175 and 185 euros. Even the routes to Puglia and Campania are no different, with prices ranging between 90 and 120 euros. The problem, even in this case, is twofold: in addition to the massive demand from passengers, railway companies have to deal with the increase in electricity necessary to move the convoys, linked in turn to fluctuations in the price of gas.
The shadow of the Middle Eastern crisis on transport
What makes the panorama so complex is the current geopolitical scenario in the Middle East, which is having direct repercussions on trade routes. Many airlines have been forced to review their flight plans due to the closure of several airspaces, opting for longer routes which involve greater fuel consumption. And, clearly, these additional costs do not remain confined to company balance sheets, but they are transferred to the fares applied to passengers. Uncertainty, however, also heavily affects the cost of land transportation. Also the private car now has prohibitive costs: with petrol reaching 1.84 euros and diesel reaching 2 euros per litre.
The government’s response and protections for families
Faced with this wave of price increases, institutions find themselves having to manage a complex situation. At the moment, however, the strategy chosen by the Government does not include direct intervention on excise dutiesthose are the fixed taxes that the State applies on fuels to finance various public activities, a measure that could have immediately lowered prices at the pump. We preferred, let’s say as usual, to focus on a bonus system, in order to protect only the most fragile segments of the population from the costs of energy and transport, while leaving the market to determine prices for the rest of consumers. In this scenario, the only real defense for the common citizen remains the meticulous search for offers as soon as possiblehoping that the international situation will not lead to further aggravations in the coming weeks.