Passengers can expect higher airfares in April after the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) raised the passenger fuel surcharge to Level 8, the highest in two years.
The new level is more than double the current Level 4 rates.
On Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the CAB has shortened its fuel surcharge review period from one month to 15 days, allowing regulators to respond more quickly to changes in jet fuel prices.
This also marks the first time the CAB will implement a 15-day price monitoring and implementation cycle for the fuel surcharge.
In an advisory issued Tuesday, the CAB said the shorter cycle “during this extraordinary period of high volatility in fuel prices shall allow faster response to market changes, reducing the lag between actual fuel costs and applicable fuel surcharge.”
“The more gradual and incremental implementation of the fuel surcharge to be collected from passengers can soften the impact of increases and enable faster reductions when fuel prices decline,” it added.
Under Level 8, airlines may impose fuel surcharges ranging from P253 to P787 for domestic flights, higher than the Level 4 range of P117 to P342.
For international flights, the surcharge will range from P835.05 to P6,208.98, depending on distance — a 116% increase from the previous range of P385.70 to P2,867.82.
The CAB said the new rates will apply from April 1 to April 15, based on an exchange rate of P58.11 to the US dollar.
Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed jet fuel prices rose 11.2% week on week to $175 per barrel as of March 13.
