South Africa travellers are likely to face significantly higher flight prices after jet fuel costs increased by approximately 70% at two of the country’s three major airports.
According to a report by SABC News, both Cape Town International Airport and King Shaka International Airport in Durban have raised the cost of Jet A1 fuel in response to rising global oil prices triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.
The country’s domestic airline, FlySafair, earlier announced that it would introduce a temporary fuel surcharge on ticket prices as a result.
The surcharge is expected to come into effect on Thursday and will apply only to flights departing on or before May 12, 2026.
Aviation expert Linden Burns told SABC that South Africans could see airlines implementing a number of measures in the coming weeks to mitigate rising fuel costs.
“The other way airlines can mitigate costs would be to try to consolidate flights, reduce the number of flights they operate, and ensure they maximise and fill the aircraft they have rather than flying as often,” Burns said.
“That hasn’t happened yet. We’re not seeing airlines moving to those levels because there is still strong demand for air travel. But if the economy takes a serious downturn and conditions worsen, we could start seeing demand for travel — particularly discretionary travel — decline, which may lead airlines to reduce capacity,” he added.
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