{"id":323212,"date":"2026-04-23T09:30:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T04:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=323212"},"modified":"2026-04-23T09:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T04:00:39","slug":"airline-fuel-surcharge-raised-to-near-maximum-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/23\/airline-fuel-surcharge-raised-to-near-maximum-level\/","title":{"rendered":"Airline fuel surcharge raised to near-maximum level"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\">\n<figure><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Level 19 fuel surcharge, slightly below the utmost Level 20, is the very best in 4 years, based on CAB data. \u2014 PHILIPPINE STAR\/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p2\">By<b> Ashley Erika O. Jose, <\/b><span class=\"s1\"><i>Reporter<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">THE CIVIL Aeronautics Board (CAB) raised the passenger fuel surcharge to Level 19 for April 16-30, the very best since 2022 and slightly below the utmost <span class=\"s2\">allowable rate, increasing fares for flights booked <\/span>in the course of the period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">The speed follows the Level 8 surcharge imposed for April 1-15, based on an April 13 advisory released on Wednesday, with the rise greater than doubling earlier rates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">At this level, fuel surcharges range from P627 to P1,834 for domestic flights and from P2,070.77 to P15,397.15 for international flights, depending on distance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s3\">Indicative rates show that passengers may pay a further P2,071 for flights between Manila and Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Brunei. Surcharges rise to about P3,221.34 for routes to Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and India and might reach as much as P14,663.96 for flights to North America, the UK, and the Netherlands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Fuel surcharges are variable fees added to base fares to offset changes in jet fuel costs and are adjusted based on movements in jet fuel prices using the Mean of Platts Singapore benchmark.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s4\">In response to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), jet fuel prices fell 6.7% week on week to $184.63 per barrel as of April 17 but surged 105.1% 12 months on 12 months.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">The Level 19 fuel surcharge, slightly below the utmost Level 20, is the very best in 4 years, based on CAB data.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Starting in April, the CAB shifted from a monthly review of fuel surcharges to a 15-day monitoring cycle to reply more quickly to fuel price movements following the war within the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\u201cThis interim measure shall be in effect until the present situation stabilizes, or as could also be revised or revoked accordingly,\u201d CAB Executive Director Carmelo L. Arcilla said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">For airlines collecting surcharges in foreign currency, the equivalent rate is P59.95 to the dollar, the CAB said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Local airlines earlier assured sufficient jet fuel supply following concerns about possible aircraft grounding attributable to supply constraints.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">For low-cost carrier AirAsia Philippines, geopolitical uncertainty has pushed operating costs beyond initial forecasts, as jet fuel prices greater than doubled from last 12 months\u2019s levels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s4\">\u201cWhile rising fuel costs proceed to affect airline business models built on inexpensive fares, we proceed to search out ways to maintain travel as accessible as possible without compromising the security and reliability of <\/span><span class=\"s5\">our flights,\u201d the airline said in an announcement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Data from the Department of Energy showed that the country\u2019s jet fuel supply could last as long as 61 days as of April 17.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Z. Lopez said the fuel surcharge could reach Level 20, given the present trajectory of costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><b>\u2018VERY CONCERNING\u2019<br \/><\/b>\u201cLevel 19 is already next to the very best level, which is Level 20, and that&#8217;s already very concerning. Yet the tensions within the Middle East haven&#8217;t yet abated, so it\u2019s very much possible we could reach that,\u201d said Nigel Paul C. Villarete, a senior adviser on public-private partnership at Libra Konsult, Inc., and former <span class=\"s6\">chief executive officer of the Mactan-<\/span>Cebu International Airport Authority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\">\u201cWithin the meantime, it may additionally make people spend less on travel, although we do want them to spend more, especially foreign visitors, because tourism is a significant <\/span><span class=\"s3\">economic driver in our country,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\">\u201cA high surcharge means high fear of possible supply constraints\u2026 So high surcharge is supposed to kill or discourage some demand for air travel. The leisure travel will likely be canceled temporarily, and only essential and business travels will proceed via high fare surcharge,\u201d Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr., president of Minimal Government Thinkers, said in a Viber message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">IATA warned that flight cancellations could emerge in some regions attributable to jet fuel shortages, citing the International Energy Agency (IEA).<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s3\">\u201cThat is already happening in parts of Asia. Together with doing the whole lot possible to secure alternative supply lines, it\u2019s vital that authorities have well-communicated and well-coordinated plans in place in case rationing becomes essential, including for slot relief,\u201d IATA Director-General William M. Walsh said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Jet fuel accounts for about 7% of worldwide oil demand, with markets becoming more vulnerable attributable to disruptions in Middle East supply, IEA said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Earlier this month, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines encouraged airlines to adopt sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and is assessing the viability of local production.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) said adopting SAF from local and diversified feedstock could reduce reliance on imported fuels and help stabilize prices in the long run, shielding airlines from sharp fossil <span class=\"s2\">fuel price spikes. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\u201cWithin the Philippines, nonetheless, these advantages will only be realized if domestic SAF production is developed and native feedstock supply is strengthened,\u201d ICSC Chief Data Scientist Jephraim C. Manansala said via e-mail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">IATA reported in December that SAF accounted for 0.6% of total jet fuel consumption last 12 months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">The group attributed limited supply to weak policy support and noted that SAF stays dearer than fossil-based jet fuel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><span class=\"s5\">\u201cSAF today stays significantly dearer than conventional jet fuel \u2014 typically around two to 5 times the associated fee. This premium makes voluntary uptake unlikely without support. Incentives may also help bridge this gap and encourage initial <\/span><span class=\"s3\">adoption,\u201d Mr. Manansala said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\u201cImported SAF doesn&#8217;t eliminate foreign dependence; it shifts it\u2026 For SAF to actually strengthen energy security, incentives should be tied to domestic production. Which means supporting local industries with feedstocks, agricultural residues, waste oils, biomass, and constructing enough production capability within the Philippines,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Level 19 fuel surcharge, slightly below the utmost Level 20, is the very best in 4 years, based on CAB data. \u2014 PHILIPPINE STAR\/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter THE CIVIL Aeronautics Board (CAB) raised the passenger fuel surcharge to Level 19 for April 16-30, the very best since 2022 and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":323213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[21658,3583,5499,50930,4619,25486],"class_list":["post-323212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-airline","tag-fuel","tag-level","tag-nearmaximum","tag-raised","tag-surcharge"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323212"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323215,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323212\/revisions\/323215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}