India’s largest airline IndiGo on Tuesday cautioned that rising operating costs, fuelled by the escalating Middle East conflict, could push airfares higher and weigh on travel demand, while its international flight plans remain contingent on the evolving situation.
The escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran has driven up jet fuel prices and disrupted airline operations due to airspace restrictions across parts of the Middle East. For Indian carriers, fuel accounts for around 40 per cent of total operating expenses, making them particularly vulnerable to price spikes.
In a statement to PTI, an IndiGo spokesperson on Tuesday said the airline plans to operate nearly 2,000 daily domestic flights under its summer schedule starting April.
"IndiGo's international schedule was planned at similar levels to winter, but the deployed scale will, of course, vary based on ongoing circumstances in the Middle East. It should be noted that there is a very material escalation in operating costs, with fuel and forex related costs expected to continue to increase very substantially, in addition to what is already an escalating cost environment," the spokesperson said.
While the planned number of flights is broadly in line with the 2025 summer schedule, it remains lower than the services scheduled during the ongoing winter season, which had to be scaled back following major operational disruptions in early December last year.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has approved the domestic summer schedule from March 29 to October 24.
"While we have introduced a fuel surcharge to compensate some of this cost, this and other fare increases required will have an effect on demand. This is an extremely fluid operating environment which the airline will be closely monitoring and recalibrate its capacity accordingly both in domestic and international," the spokesperson said.
IndiGo has already implemented fuel surcharges ranging from Rs 425 to Rs 2,300 on both domestic and international tickets from March 14. Other carriers, including Air India, Air India Express and Akasa Air, have also introduced similar charges.
In addition to rising fuel prices, airlines are grappling with sudden airspace restrictions and elevated insurance premiums, further increasing operational costs and complexity.