Brexit would cause flight costs to soar, travel bosses Carolyn McCall of EasyJet and TUI’s former chief Peter Long warn
The cost of flights would go up if Britain left the EU, two top travel bosses have warned.
EasyJet chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said the EU was behind the fall in air fares across Europe over the past two decades, and that before its creation air travel was "reserved for the elite".
Writing in the Sunday Times, McCall said : "The EU is not perfect and it does need reform. We support the efforts of the prime minister in improving the terms of our relationship. But remaining within the EU means that the UK can directly influence the rules governing the single market – rules that affect our industry and our passengers."
Speaking to the newspaper, former TUI boss Peter Long also warned that an exit from the EU would send the value of sterling down, resulting in the cost of holidays rising. "For our customers, that means higher holiday prices and less spending money,” he said.
Long, now chairman at Royal Mail, also said the close ties between Europe – its governments and foreign offices – helped responses to security threats, such as the attack on holiday makers in Tunisia last year. “It would not be like that if we weren’t in a situation where we were as Europe working together,” he warned.