India’s largest airline by market share said it cited IATA’s Jet Fuel Monitor as indicating that fuel prices have rallied over 130% on a month-to-month basis as the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the raging Iran-US war spurred supply disruptions. “The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) have decided to pass only a partial and staggered increase of 25% to the airlines for domestic operations. With this clarity, IndiGo has also recalibrated its domestic fuel charge to vary by different travel distances,” it added.
The revised fuel charges will be applicable on all flight bookings made after 12 am on April 2. The revised fuel charge for domestic flights covering 0-500 km will now stand at Rs 275, while those for 501-1,000 km and 1,001-1,500 km have been increased to Rs 400 and Rs 600, respectively. The fuel charge for flights covering a distance of 1,501-2,000 km has been increased to Rs 800, while those covering a distance of more than 2,000 km will be charged Rs 950.
“IndiGo is thankful to the government for timely intervention, without which April 2026 fuel cost increases would have severely impacted affordability of domestic air travel,” the airline said.
For international flights, IndiGo has set the highest fuel charge at Rs 10,000 for passengers flying to the UK and Europe, other than Greece and Turkey, for which the fuel charge has been hiked to Rs 7,500. The fuel charge for flights to Africa, along with those flying to Southeast Asia and China, and the Middle East, which cover more than 2,000 km distance, will be Rs 5,000. Flights to these regions covering less than 2,000 km will be charged Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500. For the Indian subcontinent, flights covering up to 500 km distance will be charged Rs 900, while those covering more than 500 km will be charged Rs 2,500.
“Although fully offsetting the fuel price increase would require substantial fare revisions, IndiGo has passed on a relatively smaller amount to customers, keeping in mind the consequential burden on them,” the company added.
IndiGo had introduced fuel charges on tickets from March 14 onwards. ATF is one of the biggest operating cost components for airlines, accounting for roughly 35-40% of total expenses, making carriers highly sensitive to sudden spikes in fuel prices.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)