Business

Good news for flight prices in South Africa

Staff Writer

 ·3 Jun 2026

Airline FlySafair has announced that it will be cutting back its fuel surcharges in June as jet fuel costs improve.

The airline introduced the surcharges in March 2026 after the United States’ war in Iran led to a significant spike in energy costs.

According to FlySafair’s illustrative pricing, the surcharge spiked from around R170 (Joburg to Cape Town) in early March to over R800 in April, before slowly coming down to around R700 in May.

In June, the surcharge will reduce further, the airline said, with current charges now 40% below the peak.

“The move will deliver meaningful savings to South African travellers while maintaining the airline’s commitment to transparent pricing,” it said.

FlySafair said that, from the outset, it committed to applying the surcharge as a clearly itemised line item, calculated by route to reflect actual fuel consumption and reviewed weekly as market conditions changed.

“In recent weeks, both the availability and cost of Jet A1 fuel have improved. Refining margins for jet fuel have also eased, helping prices fall faster than crude oil movements alone might suggest,” it said.

This week’s reduction is the most significant since the surcharge was introduced, it added.

However, the group warned that the conditions are still in flux.

It stressed that jet fuel prices remain linked to global oil markets and geopolitical developments, and the group would continue to review the surcharge weekly and adjust it in line with underlying fuel costs.

Dynamic Fuel Surcharge – Illustrative pricing