Budget airlines are accused of deceiving passengers about the true cost of fares by adding up to £50 in taxes, fees and charges to the price shown on their websites.

The Air Transport Users Council said that passengers found it difficult to compare the prices of airlines because some quoted an inclusive fare while others tried to confuse customers by separating out some of the costs.

The worst example it found was Flybe, which added £51.30 in taxes, fees and charges to the price of a return ticket between Birmingham and Aberdeen and £50.30 between Glasgow and Birmingham. Ryanair added £38.93 between Stansted and Alicante and Jet2 £29.20 between Belfast and Ibiza. By contrast, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic included all taxes, fees and charges in the published fare.

The watchdog issued a report in 2005 calling for inclusive prices to be published to avoid confusion for passengers. But Tina Tietjen, its chairman, said that the situation was now even more confusing because the pricing policies of the airlines had diverged. “The only solution is for all airlines to switch to all-inclusive pricing on their websites,” she said.

Flybe admitted that it continued to show a lower price at the first stage of a booking and only added the taxes, fees and charges when a passenger attempted to pay. “We feel it’s a legitimate pricing policy tool to separate out our charges from the taxes and charges that are imposed by the Exchequer and the airport so passengers are aware of how the final cost is made up,” a spokesman added.