Elijah Felice Rosales – The Philippine Star
July 24, 2025 | 12:00am
In an advisory, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) authorized carriers to raise the fuel surcharge by a notch to Level 4 in August, from a record-low Level 3 this month.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP
MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos eyeing to book flights in August will have to pay more, as airlines have been given the green light to collect higher charges to cover the increase in jet fuel prices.
In an advisory, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) authorized carriers to raise the fuel surcharge by a notch to Level 4 in August, from a record-low Level 3 this month.
At Level 4, airlines can impose a fuel surcharge of P117 to P342 for domestic flights and P385.7 to P2,867.82 for foreign departures, depending on the distance.
Level 3 limits the fuel surcharge of P83 to P300 for local flights and P273.36 to P2,032.54 for international trips.
The increase in fuel surcharge comes at a time when airlines are dealing with lower demand as a result of the rainy season.
Globally, carriers are facing rising prices of jet fuel, as risks pile up on oil producers – from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East to higher tariffs by the US. Jet fuel costs have gone up by five percent on a monthly basis to $93.21 per barrel as of July 18.
As protocol, CAB instructed airlines wishing to collect the fuel surcharge to file an application with the agency before August. Likewise, it set an exchange rate of P56.53 to $1 for carriers operating in foreign currencies.
The country’s largest carriers are pushing through with their expansion plans led by low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific.
The airline owned by the Gokongweis booked a 21 percent jump in passenger volume in the first half to 13.9 million, from 11.5 million a year ago. Cebu Pacific expanded domestic traffic by 20 percent to 10.4 million and international footprint by 22 percent to 3.5 million.
Recently, Cebu Pacific received a new Airbus A330neo to boost its widebody fleet, now comprising 12 aircraft. Moreover, the delivery of the aircraft marks the 100th unit in Cebu Pacific’s fleet – the first and only carrier in the Philippines with such a volume of jets at its disposal.
Budget carrier AirAsia Philippines is also raising its flight schedule to Taipei to 17 times weekly by July in preparation for a demand surge with the visa-free entry to the territory extended.
Airlines are allowed by CAB to pass on the fuel surcharge to their passengers to recover some of the costs incurred from fluctuations in the global market.