South Africans looking to use low-cost airline FlySafair will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets
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South Africans looking to use low-cost airline FlySafair will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets after the airline announced it was increasing fares.
In a statement released on Wednesday, FlySafair said the fare increase is due to a temporary fuel surcharge, linked to a sharp rise in jet fuel prices following the ongoing Middle East crisis. The airline said the surcharge will apply to flights departing on or before 12 May and will not affect existing bookings.
"Since the Middle East crisis erupted on 28 February, FlySafair has absorbed steep fuel cost increases to shield passengers from immediate airfare increases. With Jet A1 Fuel prices at South African coastal airports now up approximately 70% in just one week, and no clear end in sight, the airline has reached the point where it must pass on a portion of these costs to ensure the long-term sustainability of the airline and its low fare offering," the airline said.
"The airline is now moving to introduce a temporary fuel surcharge: a measure the airline has resisted throughout its history. The surcharge takes effect from 12 March 2026 and will apply only to flights departing on or before 12 May 2026".
The airline added that the surcharge will be clearly itemised on all tickets to ensure transparency.
“We will be specifically itemising this temporary dynamic fuel surcharge on all tickets to ensure fairness and transparency to our customers.” Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair, said.
“The persistence and scale of these fuel costs have left us with no reasonable alternative. “Instead of increasing fares across the board or hiding costs, we have chosen to introduce a clearly labelled, temporary surcharge. This gives customers full visibility into what they are paying for and allows us to remove the surcharge once prices stabilise".
IOL Business
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