GURUGRAM, India, 12 March 2026: Air India Group is increasing its fuel surcharges on domestic and international routes, necessitated by the steep rise in jet fuel prices driven by the war in the Middle East.
Since early March, aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which accounts for nearly 40% of an airline’s operating costs, has seen a significant price increase due to supply disruptions in the Persian Gulf.
In India, this pressure is amplified by high excise duty and VAT on ATF in major metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, thereby increasing costs and placing substantial strain on airline operating economics.
The new fuel surcharges are being implemented in three phases, covering travel on all flights, including those operated by Air India Express*.
Phase 1 (for all new bookings made from 0001 India Standard Time on 12 March 2026)
Phase 2 (for all new bookings made from 0001 India Standard Time on 18 March 2026)
Phase 3 will apply to and from Far East markets, namely Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, pending a future announcement.
Tickets issued before the above times will not incur the new surcharge unless customers request date or itinerary changes that require a fare recalculation.
Air India says in its statement that it “regrets the need to increase fuel surcharges in this manner but emphasises that factors outside its control necessitate it.”
*Air India Express currently does not levy fuel surcharges on any of its flights.
Air India adds flights to and from West Asia
Meanwhile, Air India and Air India Express together operated 58 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from the West Asia region on 11 March.
The two carriers continued to operate their respective scheduled services to and from Jeddah and Muscat on 11 March, operating eight flights to and from Jeddah, and Air India Express operating 14 scheduled flights to and from Muscat.
Air India operated one round-trip each from Delhi and Mumbai to Jeddah, and Air India Express flew one round-trip each from Hyderabad and Kozhikode to Jeddah.
Air India Express flew its scheduled services to Muscat, including one round-trip each from Delhi, Mumbai, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirappalli, and two round-trips from Kochi.
Additional ad-hoc flights
In addition to the scheduled services, Air India and Air India Express operated 36 ad-hoc non-scheduled flights to and from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
All Air India flights to and from North America, Europe, Australia, and other regions continue to operate per schedule, with 78 additional flights to and from Europe, the US, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives through 18 March 2026.
(Source: Air India)
