Flying budget carrier IndiGo to get costlier; airline levies Rs 400 surcharge on domestic fares to offset rising fuel prices

Mumbai: Flying on IndiGo will become costlier from today. The low-cost airline has introduced a fuel surcharge of up to Rs 400 on a ticket to offset the impact of rising fuel prices.

"The surcharge will be applicable on domestic trips i.e. within India, effective midnight on 29 May, 2018," the airline said in a statement.

The surcharge will be applicable on domestic trips and it will be effective from the midnight of 29 May (yesterday). A sum of Rs 200 will be added on routes with less than 1,000 km distance, whereas an amount of Rs 400 on routes longer than 1,000 km, the airline said in a release.“A marginal increase in airfares in the form of fuel surcharge will not have any significant adverse impact on the air traffic demand," the release said.Sanjay Kumar, chief commercial officer, IndiGo said with ATF prices in India having risen around 25 percent in the current month compared with the same period last year, and at the highest in last three years, the airline is compelled to pass some of the increased cost burden to customers as a fuel surcharge.[caption id="attachment_4404141" align="alignleft" width="380"] IndiGo. File image. Reuters.[/caption]"In the context of the past decade, where airfares in India have reduced by nearly 50 percent in real terms (i.e. adjusted for inflation), we are confident that this marginal increase in the form of fuel surcharge will not have any significant adverse impact on demand," he said.Other airlines are expected to follow suit.