FlySafair, Southern Africa’s leading low-cost carrier, has introduced a temporary fuel surcharge effective 12 March 2026, applicable to all flights departing on or before 12 May 2026, after Jet A1 fuel prices surged 70% in a single week. The decision is the first of its kind in the airline’s history and marks a significant departure from a pricing model that has, since 2014, deliberately shielded passengers from fuel cost volatility.
Both FlySafair and Airlink confirmed the 70% week-on-week jump in jet fuel costs, with South African carriers no longer able to absorb the increases without passing a portion on to passengers. The crisis was triggered by the conflict in Iran and the resulting disruption to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which has sent global oil prices climbing sharply since hostilities escalated on 28 February.
As detailed by FlySafair, the airline absorbed the steep cost increases for nearly two weeks in an effort to protect passengers from immediate fare hikes before concluding that the persistence and scale of the fuel price movement left no reasonable alternative. The surcharge will vary by route length to reflect actual fuel consumption per journey, and will appear as a separate line item on affected bookings rather than being embedded in the base fare — a transparency measure the airline described as central to its approach.
For passengers with existing bookings, the surcharge will not be applied retrospectively. Those who booked from Wednesday 11 March onward will see the charge reflected on flights departing on or before 12 May 2026. Passengers who modify an existing booking will attract the surcharge if the rescheduled flight falls within that same window. The exact rand value per route had not been confirmed at the time of publication, with the airline indicating that its teams were modelling fuel prices airport by airport to ensure the surcharge reflects the minimum required amount.
FlySafair does not hedge its fuel purchases, meaning it is directly exposed to spot market prices with no buffer against short-term volatility. The airline noted that carriers globally — including Japan Airlines, ANA and multiple European operators — apply fuel surcharges linked to benchmark jet fuel prices as standard practice, making FlySafair something of an outlier in having resisted the mechanism for as long as it has. The surcharge will be reviewed frequently against Jet A1 price movements and reduced or removed once market conditions improve, the airline said.
The timing is significant. FlySafair is in the midst of a proposed ownership transition, with infrastructure investment company Harith having signed a sale-and-purchase agreement to acquire the airline. The introduction of a fuel surcharge mid-transaction underscores the immediate operational pressure the conflict has created, regardless of the corporate changes under way.