Flying abroad this summer? Get ready for a price shock

₹200,000 per kilolitre, more than double the previous price of ₹96,638.14. The Union petroleum ministry stepped in quickly, capping the increase for domestic flights.Following the change, Indian Oil's jet fuel now costs ₹104,927 per kilolitre in Delhi, an 8.5% rise over March, while airlines would have to pay the new rate for international flights.

Internationally, jet fuel spiked 129% in March, as refiners pass on the increased cost of buying crude oil.This implies that carriers could raise international air fares, even as New Delhi tries to cushion the blow on domestic routes. To offset high costs, IndiGo and Air India had already introduced a fuel surcharge on domestic routes in the second week of March.“Fare increases on international routes are expected to be sharper than on domestic flights, as there is no policy cushioning and aviation fuel prices for international operations have more than doubled,” said Karan Khanna, lead analyst for hotels, real estate, aviation, and small & mid caps at Ambit Capital."Airfares were any way expected to rise due to higher fuel costs, but since the government has allowed a staggered increase instead of a sharper hike, the extent of fare hikes will likely be more moderate,” Khanna said.IndiGo on Wednesday announced its second fuel surcharge hike in a month, ₹275-900 on domestic routes and ₹900-10,000 on overseas routes.

The airline said that without the government intervention, the affordability of air travel would have been severely affected.Jet fuel, or aviation turbine fuel (ATF), accounts for 35-40% of carriers' total expenses. IndiGo spent ₹26,197.3 crore on fuel costs last year, and SpiceJet ₹20,51.5 crore, according to the financials.