Domestic and International fliers are feeling the pinch, as the price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) has skyrocketed across the world due to the war in West Asia. ATF accounts for about 40 per cent of any airline’s operational costs, and scarcity of the energy commodity, or an increase in its prices, results in a direct increase in airfare. Airlines such as Air India and Air India Express on Tuesday formally announced that they would carry out a phased expansion of fuel surcharge on all their routes.

‘Fliers are flexible’

Hari Ganapathy, co-founder of the travel agency Pickyourtrail, stated that geopolitical tensions had made fliers cautious, saying, “We’ve observed a 17-33 per cent increase in fares on India-Europe routes, while limited operational flights to Dubai have seen a 60 to 80 per cent surge.” He added, “Restrictions and fare surge have not disrupted traveller sentiment. Fliers have become more flexible with their routes, plans, and costs. We have considered this and launched a real-time safe-travel advisory that tracks airspaces which are operational, which hundreds of travellers check before fixing on destinations.”