Fuel surcharges for short and long-haul international aviation routes would rise dramatically from Tuesday next week due to a surge in crude oil prices, the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday.
Fuel surcharges for Taiwanese carriers would increase by US$27.50 for short-haul routes and US$71.50 for long-haul routes, CAA Director-General Ho Shu-ping (何淑萍) told a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee.
That would raise the surcharges on short-haul routes to US$45 and US$117 for long-haul routes, the CAA said in a statement.
Photo: Huang Yi-ching, Taipei Times
The new fuel surcharges represent a 157 percent increase.
Since the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February, which led to Tehran closing the Strait of Hormuz, Brent crude oil prices have jumped more than 60 percent.
For domestic routes, ticket prices would go up an average of NT$97 to cover additional fuel costs, Ho said.
However, the Civil Aviation Operation Fund would absorb part of the hike for routes between Taiwan proper and its outlying islands.
There are no fuel surcharges on domestic routes, but fares could rise to cover higher fuel costs when state-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) raises fuel prices for three months in a row, Ho said.
Ho did not indicate when the hikes for domestic routes would start.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said the surge in fuel prices has put financial pressure on local airlines, and the fuel surcharge hikes aim to ease that pressure.
Fuel prices account for about 40 percent of airlines’ operating costs, according to market estimates.
The CAA said it has instructed local carriers to disclose information about the fuel surcharge hikes in an appropriate manner to passengers, travel agencies, cargo shippers and cargo owners to avoid unnecessary disputes.
China Airlines (中華航空) president Kevin Chen (陳漢銘) said that temporary adjustments to fuel surcharges due to oil price fluctuations are necessary, adding that the airline has prepared in advance and hopes to avoid flight reductions or cancelations.
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