Airlines jack up airfares due to fuel surcharge hike

Airline companies hiked the airfare by up to Rs 1,020 per travel citing recent increase in prices of petroleum products.

The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN), confirming the increase in fuel surcharge, said that the one-way ticket of Biratnagar-Nepalgunj has been expensive by over Rs 1,000. as the airfare has increased from Rs 8,915 to Rs 9,935.

The state oil monopoly has increased the price of aviation fuel (domestic) by Rs 19 per liter and the aviation turbine (ATF) fuel for international by $100 per kiloliter, effective from Sunday midnight. With the revised prices, these aviation fuels now cost Rs 185 per liter for domestic and $1,645 per kl for international, respectively.

According to the rule, Rs 5 increase or decrease in ATF should adjust the fuel surcharge accordingly, which will impact the airfare directly.

So, the rate of mountain flight from Kathmandu now costs Rs 6,350 per flight, up from Rs 5,695, according to the AOAN. “Likewise, the airfare for Pokhara-Bhadrapur route has increased from Rs 6,720 to Rs 7,490 per travel.”

After Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) raised the fuel prices, the land route transporters have also increased the transport fares of inter-provincial passenger and freight transport by up to 7.7 per cent.