Bitten by the sharp hike in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) charges, majority of the domestic and international airlines have decided to pass on the hike by increasing the fuel surcharge by Rs.150-250 for domestic travel and around Rs.850 for international travel making air travel costlier. The surcharge is likely to come into effect from Wednesday onwards.
The oil marketing companies (OMCs) had recently hiked the ATF prices by almost 8 per cent following upward trend in crude oil prices in the international market. Air India increased the fuel surcharge from Tuesday itself while others such as Jet Airways and its subsidiary JetKonnect are likely to follow suit by Wednesday.
Under the new regime, an increase of Rs.150 in the surcharge would be applicable on all sectors less than 1,000 km and Rs.250 for those beyond that distance. A blanket hike of Rs.850 would be effected on all one-way international tickets. There was no word on the hike from domestic airlines such as like IndiGo and SpiceJet.