Iran War Price Rise in Air Travel: The ongoing war-like situation between Iran and Israel-America is now directly impacting the pockets of the common traveler in India. Due to disruption in the supply of crude oil, the prices of aviation turbine fuel ATF have increased and airlines have also imposed fuel surcharge and the result is visible. Flight tickets on almost every major route in the country have become costlier by 30-35 percent in the last few days.

Recently ATF for domestic airlines has increased by 8.5 percent. ATF accounts for 35 to 45 percent of the total operating expenses of any airline, so as soon as fuel becomes expensive, the ticket price goes straight up, then see how much its impact is on the public.

How much before the flight from Delhi, how much now?

If we look at the booking of air fares for April 16, the cheapest non-stop ticket from Delhi to Goa currently starts at ₹ 8,384. The same route is running between ₹9,038 to ₹11,098 on IndiGo. A few weeks ago, the same ticket was available for between ₹ 4,500 to ₹ 6,000 and if the booking for the next day goes to Delhi, then this rate can be seen even up to ₹ 15 thousand. The condition of Delhi to Bangalore is even worse, on 16th April the fare has reached ₹ 12,596 and in this too the fare for the next day comes to ₹ 15 to 17 thousand.

How much will the fare cost from Jaipur?

There has been an increase of up to 30 per cent on the Jaipur to Bengaluru route, with fares ranging from minimum ₹ 11,568 to maximum ₹ 24,129. Jaipur to Ahmedabad ranges from ₹7,036 to ₹12,443, 15 percent more than last year. Jaipur to Mumbai is costlier by about 10 percent from ₹ 6,305 to ₹ 13,481. Jaipur to Goa ₹13,128 and the demand is so high that it has become difficult to tell the upper limit.

Ranchi and Nagpur passengers also worried

The fare from Ranchi to Delhi which was normally ₹ 8,000-₹ 10,000, has now reached ₹ 12,000-₹ 15,000. Mumbai ticket has become ₹14,000-₹16,000. Kolkata is running between ₹8,000-₹10,000 and Hyderabad ₹10,000-₹13,000. The fare from Nagpur to Delhi jumped from ₹10,228 to ₹13,495 in just one day. Whereas a few weeks ago the same ticket was available for ₹5,500-₹6,000.

The fare from Chandigarh to Bangalore was ₹ 12,000 till March 31, which has now reached ₹ 16,000. The ticket from Chennai to Hyderabad which was usually available for ₹ 6,000 was sold for up to ₹ 19,000 this weekend. Kochi ticket jumped three times from ₹4,000 to ₹18,000.

IndiGo has imposed a fuel surcharge on all domestic and international tickets from March 14, ranging from ₹425 to ₹2,300 per seat, depending on the route. Air India and Air India Express implemented fuel surcharge of ₹399 on domestic tickets from March 12. Akasa Air has also increased its surcharge from March 15.

Fuel surcharge also extra recovery

IndiGo has implemented a new surcharge structure from April 2. On domestic routes, additional charges will range from ₹ 275 to ₹ 950 depending on the distance. Air India and Akasa Air have also implemented similar surcharges. On short routes like Delhi to Lucknow, you will have to pay extra ₹ 275, Mumbai-Kolkata ₹ 600, Bengaluru-Hyderabad ₹ 800 and Chennai ₹ 950 extra.

There is no relief in international flights. Fuel surcharge of ₹ 3,000 to ₹ 5,000 is applicable on Gulf and Middle East routes and up to ₹ 10,000 for Europe-UK. Unless the Iran crisis subsides and crude oil supplies normalize, there is no hope of a fall in air fares and the government has given partial relief to domestic airlines. The entire ATF burden will not be passed on to passengers, but there is no such shield on international routes. At present, the sooner you book tickets, the better.