Travelers booking flights from April 16 to 30 will face significantly steeper costs after the Civil Aeronautics Board pushed fuel surcharge levels to Level 19—one step from the ceiling of its pricing matrix—for both domestic and international routes.
The adjustment carries substantial weight for international passengers in particular. Surcharges on overseas flights now span P2,070.77 to P15,397.15, compared to a previous range of P835.05 to P6,208.98. Domestic travelers are not spared either, with per-flight add-ons now running from P627 to P1,834, up from the earlier P253 to P787. Taken together, the changes represent an increase of nearly 150% against charges that applied in early April.
CAB has framed the escalation as a temporary response to ongoing instability in global oil markets, which it has attributed to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The board has committed to a 15-day review cycle for fuel surcharge pricing, a cadence designed to track market movements as conditions evolve. Its advisory describes the current level as an “interim measure” that remains in effect only until the global situation settles.
Passengers who completed and paid for their bookings before April 16 are unaffected by the changes—the revised charges apply only to transactions made within the current window.
While fuel surcharges are technically classified by CAB as “optional” fees separate from base fares, they are routinely applied by airlines as a mechanism to recover the variable costs of jet fuel. The fees are also distance-dependent, meaning travelers on longer international routes will absorb the highest end of the new scale.
