MANILA -- Airfares may soar again after the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) raised the fuel surcharge to Level 17 for October 1 to 15.
This means the fuel surcharge will range from P559 to P1,635 for local passengers, and from P1,846.10 to P13,726.58 for international passengers.
The fuel surcharge level was at Level 14 from September 16 to 30.
The fuel surcharge is an “optional fee” collected by airlines to recover costs from the swings in jet fuel prices. They are adjusted upward or downward depending on the price of aviation fuel in the world market.
CAB has set twenty fuel surcharge levels, with 20 being the highest and most expensive.
Oil prices have spiked anew after US President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian offer of a seven-day truce to ease tensions in the Middle East.
Tehran last week set out a plan at the UN General Assembly for a halt in hostilities that would see the Strait of Hormuz reopened, which would ease a crippling supply crisis that has jacked up costs around the world.
The waterway is key to the world's energy supply and is now central to the conflict between the US and Iran, particularly with Houthis seizing Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital shipping lane.