If you think airfares in India are high, the war in Iran is about to make it worse.

Akasa Air on Saturday became the newest entry in the list of airlines that have announced airfare hikes owing to the global energy crisis triggered by the US-Israel bombing of Iran and Tehran choking off the Strait of Hormuz in return.

Akasa cited a steep hike in airplane turbine fuel due to the “evolving geopolitical developments in the Middle East” to introduce a surcharge of Rs 199 to 1,300 on domestic and international routes from Sunday, March 15.

The airline in a post on X said that the surcharge will apply for all bookings from Sunday, March 15.

Akasa’s announcement came a day after IndiGo, India’s largest airline, posted on X that it will implement a charge on domestic and international routes for bookings made on or after March 14.

The airline also attributed the charge to the “evolving geopolitical situation in the Middle East.”

IndiGo’s revised charges account for Rs 425 for flights within India and the subcontinent, Rs 900 for the Middle East and Rs 2,300 for Europe.

IndiGo also stated that it would monitor changes and make relevant adjustments when appropriate, and regretted the inconvenience.

On March 10, Air India and Air India Express had announced that they would levy a fuel charge of Rs 399 on each domestic flight ticket from March 12 and also hike the charge for international bookings due to a steep rise in jet fuel prices.

Regretting the need for the fuel surcharge, Air India on Tuesday said that without such surcharge, “it is likely that some flights would be unable to cover basic operating costs and would have to be cancelled.”