It’s one of travelers’ worst nightmares: being stranded overnight at an airport due to a missed or canceled plane. A stressful experience that has a cost.
AirAdvisor, a support platform for injured air passengers, analyzed* the prices of daily expenses in major airports around the world: coffee, bottle of water, toothbrush, even a night in a nearby hotel and transportation to get there.
“We estimate that by 2024, up to one million French passengers will have had to spend at least one night stranded at or near an airport, paying for hotels, meals and other basic needs,” explains Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor. “At some airports, these basic items cost less than a movie ticket. At others, they rival the price of a weekend getaway.”
Behind JFK, another American airport (Los Angeles) is the most expensive for this basket of essential products with a total cost of 224 euros. Paris-Roissy-Charles de Gaulle occupies sixth place with a cost of 163 euros, much higher than London Heathrow (134 euros) or Dubai (115 euros).
It is in Zurich, Switzerland, where a cup of coffee is the most expensive (6 euros!) and you will have to pay no less than 5 euros in New York JFK, Sydney or Oslo to treat yourself to a one-liter bottle of water…
“Within the terminals, retailers and restaurants face high rents and fees, as well as higher staff costs, all of which are passed on to passengers,” it reads.
As for the most affordable airports, Delhi in India takes first place with an average cost of 22 euros, ahead of Bangkok in Thailand (39 euros) and Beijing in China (41 euros). The only European airport in the Top 10 is Istanbul in Türkiye (78 euros).
“India is unbeatable in terms of budget: Delhi is the cheapest airport in the world. You can find a 3-star hotel room from 16 euros and a fast meal for only 2 euros. Asia (in general) is much more affordable: Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and Bangkok offer hotels for less than 60 euros per night and meals between 5 and 8 euros. Europe is still expensive: Zurich, Oslo, Paris, London and Madrid appear among the 10 most expensive airports,” emphasizes the specialist.
In any case, the specialist advises all travelers to “carry some essential items such as snacks, a reusable water bottle and toiletries, this can avoid paying exorbitant prices at the airport.”
And remember that “in Europe, regulation 261/2004 obliges airlines to cover meals, drinks and accommodation if a night on site is necessary, with a possible additional compensation of 250 to 600 euros.”
*: The study looked at the cost of six essential items: a fast meal (burger, fries, drink), a coffee, a 1-litre bottle of water, a transport ticket to the city centre, a night in a nearby 3-star hotel and a toothbrush. The airports were selected from among the 50 busiest in the world (data from the Airports Council International), with a maximum of two per country. The final selection was refined using OAG Megahubs connectivity data to ensure global coverage across all continents.
Source: BFM TV
