Festive air travel costlier as IndiGo hikes fuel surcharge up to Rs 10,000
Domestic tickets costlier by Rs 375 to Rs 1300 based on distance slab, international tickets by Rs 1000 to Rs 10000 for Europe routes. ATF is 40% of airline cost.
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Air travelers planning to go home and go on vacation during the festive season have faced a major financial setback. The country's largest domestic airline company IndiGo has announced a massive hike in fuel surcharge citing the ever-rising prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) i.e. jet fuel. The new rates will be effective on all new ticket bookings done after 12:01 am on October 6, 2026. Under this, domestic flight tickets will become costlier by Rs 375 to Rs 1,300 and international flight tickets by Rs 1,000 to a maximum of Rs 10,000.
Jet fuel prices have risen by over 14% in a month
According to IndiGo, ATF prices have risen by over 14% in the last one month, pushing jet fuel rates to their highest level in almost a decade. ATF accounts for around 40% of an airline's total operating costs. The skyrocketing fuel prices have made flight operations significantly more expensive, forcing the company to pass on this additional burden to passengers.
There will be an additional burden on the pocket according to the distance
Fuel surcharge in domestic flights has been fixed according to the distance slab, due to which long distance travel will become more expensive. Passengers will have to pay Rs 375 extra for short journeys up to 500 km. There will be an increase of Rs 600 on flights of 501 to 1,000 km and Rs 900 on travel of 1,001 to 1,500 km. At the same time, passengers will have to pay Rs 1,150 more on tickets of 1,501 to 2,000 km and up to Rs 1,300 more on long domestic flights of more than 2,000 km.
Fuel surcharges for international flights range from ₹1,000 to ₹10,000. The largest increase is for long-haul flights to Europe, where an additional surcharge of up to ₹10,000 will be levied per ticket.
Crisis deepens due to West Asia tensions and refinery margins
Aviation industry experts say that due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions and war conditions in West Asia, ATF prices in India have risen much more sharply than crude oil. According to experts, there has been no major change in the basic cost of converting crude oil into jet fuel, but the profit margin of Indian refineries on jet fuel has increased significantly. This increase during the peak time of the festive season will have a direct impact on the budget of common travelers.