International airfares increase sharply

Rising fuel costs along with increasing demand for direct flights are pushing airfares up. Rising fuel costs along with increasing demand for direct flights are pushing airfares up.

Meanwhile, conflict is also changing the flight path map. The Gulf region is home to super aviation hubs, connecting passengers from all over the world, playing a bridge between Europe and Asia and Oceania.

This area was also once one of the busiest air corridors in the world, before flight traffic was forced to divert after the first attacks at the end of February. Therefore, more and more passengers are looking to book direct flights between Asia and Europe. Increased demand while reduced operating capacity is also a factor causing ticket prices to escalate.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam conducted a quick survey on March 20 with nearly 40 international and regional airlines. The results showed that more than 60% of airlines have or are expected to apply increased fuel surcharges or adjust fares from mid-March 2026.

Airlines apply two main forms. One is to separate fuel surcharges and adjust them directly to the base fare, with a common increase of 05 to 20% depending on the route and service class such as Air France, Thai Airways, United Airlines...

The second is to apply separate fuel surcharges (YQ/YR) - an additional fee outside the basic ticket price - with flexible adjustments according to fuel price developments. Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air, All Nippon Airways or China Southern Airlines,... increase surcharges with fluctuations ranging from about 130,000 VND to over 10 million VND/ticket, depending on flight distance and service class.

In addition, some airlines such as Lufthansa and Korean Air apply fuel surcharges at a level of about 17,000 - 40,000 VND/kg for freight transport.

Currently, Vietnamese airlines have not announced fare adjustments or fuel surcharges.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, the sharp increase in aviation service prices is mainly due to the increase in Jet A-1 aviation fuel prices, at times up to 80% compared to the beginning of the year, due to concerns about disruption of global energy supply and some oil refineries reducing capacity or temporarily stopping for maintenance.

In addition, adjusting flight routes to avoid conflict zones not only prolongs flight time but also increases fuel consumption, thereby increasing cost pressure on airlines. In this context, applying or adjusting fuel surcharges is considered a short-term solution to compensate for costs, but also contributes to pushing up airfares and transportation costs accordingly.

Faced with this development, in the past time, the Government and ministries and sectors have proactively researched and implemented a number of solutions to support the aviation industry.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has worked with airlines to assess the impact, summarize opinions and report to competent authorities, thereby considering appropriate operating plans, contributing to market stability and ensuring transport connectivity.

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