By Admin 
Due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, air fares may become expensive again from April 1, 2026. The price of ATF in India was ₹ 91 per liter in February. It increased to ₹97 per liter in March i.e. a jump of ₹6 per liter in a month. A big plane burns about 6,000 liters of fuel to fly from Delhi to Mumbai, which means an additional burden of ₹ 36,000 on just one flight.
Airfare may increase from April 1
If government oil companies fix prices according to global prices from April, then the share of ATF in the airline’s cost can reach 80 percent. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu himself has said that ATF prices are decided on the first of every month and its effect will be visible from April 1, 2026. On top of this, airlines have to take longer routes to avoid Iran’s airspace. Longer routes mean more fuel and that expense ultimately comes out of the passenger’s pocket.
IndiGo has imposed a fuel surcharge of ₹425 to ₹2,300 per seat, depending on the route, on all domestic and international tickets from March 14. Air India and Air India Express implemented fuel surcharge of ₹399 on domestic tickets from March 12. Akasa Air also added its surcharge from March 15. Air India clearly said that if this surcharge was not there then it would not have been possible to operate some flights.
Fare had increased even before fuel surcharge was implemented
The government had imposed a cap on domestic fares during the IndiGo crisis in December 2025. The fare could not be more than ₹7,500 on routes up to 500 kilometres, ₹15,000 on medium distance routes like Delhi-Mumbai and ₹18,000 on long routes. This cap was removed from 23 March 2026. The government said that after the IndiGo crisis, the situation has now become normal and the capacity has been restored. There is now no cap on fares, although the ministry has warned airlines that any unreasonable and excessive increase will be viewed seriously.
Fares double between many cities
Due to this, the situation is such that the fare on the Bengaluru-Delhi route has increased from ₹ 1,500 to ₹ 3,000. The ticket from Bengaluru to Andaman which used to be available for ₹ 15,000 to ₹ 20,000 has now become ₹ 25,000 to ₹ 30,000. Goa fares have jumped from ₹4,000 to ₹8,000 to ₹10,000. A travel agent said that send a quotation and the fare increases by ₹ 2,000 in just 10 minutes till the customer responds. Now the summer schedule of DGCA is coming into effect from 29th March. This time there will be about 2,561 fewer flights every week compared to last year, i.e. a 10 percent decrease. Fewer seats, more demand and expensive fuel together will push fares higher.
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