24/06/2022
Travelers will have to brace for higher airfares starting July 1 as surging fuel prices raised operating costs.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said that fuel prices continued to spike in June, which warranted another increase in fuel surcharge in July.
Fuel surcharges are additional fees collected by airlines to help them cover fuel costs.
Monthly jet fuel prices hit an all-time high in May at $163 per barrel, double the $78 per barrel in 2021.
The CAB board, under Resolution No. 25, resolved to adopt new guidelines on passenger, as well as cargo fuel surcharge for domestic and international flights.
Under level 11, airlines starting next month are allowed to collect fuel charges ranging from P355 to P1,038 per passenger for domestic flights and P1,172.07 to P8,714.84 for international flights.
The rates depend on the distance of the flights. For an Iloilo to Manila flight, passengers will be charged P507 in fuel surcharge. The current fuel surcharge under Level 7 for the same route of over 400 kilometers is P346.
Airlines are given the freedom to impose a fuel surcharge or not, but the rates should they opt to do so must be based on a fuel matrix set by the government.
Flights from the Philippines to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Brunei will have a fuel surcharge of P1,172.07.
Local airlines have added a number of flights to other countries with the reopening of international borders as pandemic restrictions ease.
