New Delhi, March 13 IndiGo will start charging fuel surcharges ranging from ₹425 to ₹2,300 on domestic and international flight tickets from March 14, amid a sharp increase in jet fuel prices due to the West Asia crisis.
This move will increase airfares, and comes three days after Air India Group announced the introduction of such charges.
For domestic flights and those within the Indian subcontinent, the fuel charge will be ₹425, while it will be ₹900 for services to the Middle East, the airline said in a statement on Friday.
The fuel charge will be ₹1,800 for flights to Southeast Asia, China, and Africa, and ₹2,300 for flights to Europe.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) accounts for nearly 40 per cent of an airline's operational costs.
For each domestic flight, the fuel surcharge announced by IndiGo is higher compared to the ₹399 being levied by Air India and Air India Express. Akasa Air and SpiceJet have not yet announced the imposition of fuel charges.
While announcing the introduction of the fuel charge, the airline said that the measure has been taken due to the significant surge in fuel prices, following the ongoing geopolitical issues in the Middle East.
"While offsetting the entire impact of this fuel price surge requires a very substantial adjustment to fares, IndiGo has introduced a relatively smaller amount as a fuel charge, keeping in mind the consequential burden on customers," the airline said.
From 00:01 hours on March 14, overall prices for all new bookings on IndiGo flights will include the fuel charge, a statement said.
While regretting the inconvenience resulting from the fuel charge, IndiGo said that it would continue to monitor the situation and make relevant adjustments as and when appropriate.
On March 10, Air India and Air India Express announced that they would levy a fuel charge of ₹399 on each domestic flight ticket from March 12 and also hiked the charge for international bookings due to a sharp rise in jet fuel prices. The revised rates came into effect from March 12.