Air India’s ticket prices for domestic flights rise from today:To cost passengers up to ₹899 more

Flying by Tata Group-owned Air India and Air India Express may become costlier from Wednesday, 8 April, 2026, as the airlines have hiked fuel surcharge on all domestic and select international routes. On domestic routes, the airlines have increased the surcharge in the range of ₹299 to ₹899. The surcharge hike will apply to flight tickets of airlines flying on other international routes from Friday, 10 April 2026, also. IndiGo hiked fuel surcharge by up to ₹10,000 IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, had increased the fuel surcharge based on new distance framework. In doing so, it junked the earlier flat surcharge of ₹425. Domestic Routes: ₹275 to ₹950 levied based on distance, providing relief for short-distance flights, but long-distance domestic flights became costlier. International Routes: On long-haul routes like Europe, the maximum impact was felt. IndiGo increased the fuel surcharge up to ₹10,000. Reason – Govt hiked ATF rates The Central government increased the airline turbine fuel (ATF) price for domestic airlines by 8.6% to ₹1.04 lakh per kilo litre and doubled the jet fuel rates to ₹2.07 lakh/kilo litre for non-scheduled, adhoc and charter carriers. Jet fuel constitutes 40% of airlines’ operational cost Experts say that jet fuel accounts for about 40% of airline’s total operating cost. In such a situation, even a slight change in ATF prices directly impacts airlines’ profits. However, airlines argue that due to this increased expenses, they are forced to pass this burden onto passengers. What is fuel surcharge? When oil prices increase significantly in the international market, airlines add an additional charge to the ticket instead of increasing the base fare, which is called fuel surcharge. When oil prices decrease, it can be reduced or removed, whereas changing the base fare is somewhat complex.