Airfares for flights between April 1-15 to climb as fuel surcharges hit Level 8

Flights booked between April 1 and 15 may increase by up to P6,200, as the Civil Aeronautics Board adjusted the fuel surcharge level from Level 4 to Level 8 for all flights amid the oil price hike.

According to CAB's advisory, it is implementing a 15-day period for fuel surcharge adjustments, instead of one month. This is "to mitigate the impact of the fuel price surge on air travel costs."

It said that the shorter cycle helps allow "faster response to market changes, reducing the lag between actual fuel costs and applicable fuel surcharge."

"This is intended to cushion the impact of fuel price volatility and manage increasing costs," it wrote.

CAB noted that implementing fuel surcharges incrementally could "[soften] the impact" of price hikes while allowing for quicker reductions when fuel costs drop.

Under the current Level 4, domestic passengers pay between P117 and P342, while international surcharges range from P385.70 to P2,867.82.

Level 8 would see these rates climb significantly, reaching P253 to P787 for domestic routes and P835.06 to P6,208.98 for international flights.

Before this, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez on Friday ordered to lower Passenger Service Charges and airport navigation fees to ease airlines’ operating costs.

He requested that the CAB reduce the evaluation and implementation window for fuel surcharges, shortening the cycle to 15 days.

“Patuloy na mino-monitor ng pamahalaan ang sitwasyon at ang pakikipagtulungan sa aviation industry para matiyak na mananatiling ligtas, maaasahan, at abot-kaya ang air travel para sa publiko," he said.