Thai Airways raises fuel surcharge on international tickets
Passengers will face higher fuel surcharges from Friday (May 1, 2026), while tickets issued by Thursday (April 30, 2026) keep current rates.
- Thai Airways is increasing its fuel surcharge on international tickets due to a "fuel crisis" caused by rising global aviation fuel prices linked to conflict in the Middle East.
- The new surcharge rates will be almost 100% higher, effectively doubling this portion of the ticket cost for passengers on routes like Bangkok to London, Tokyo, and Sydney.
- The increased rates will apply to all tickets issued on or after May 1, 2026; tickets issued before this date will retain the current, lower surcharge regardless of the travel date.
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited has issued an important announcement on revisions to its fuel surcharge rates for tickets on international routes.
The move comes under pressure from a “fuel crisis”, with global aviation fuel prices volatile and rising far beyond forecasts.
Costs surge as Middle East conflict intensifies
The main cause of the crisis is the intensifying conflict in the Middle East, which has pushed Jet A-1 aviation fuel prices up by two to three times compared with levels before the conflict.
Data indicated that oil prices had jumped from about US$80 per barrel to more than US$240 per barrel.
As fuel is a major cost in airline operations, accounting for as much as 30% of each flight, the sharp increase in costs has made it necessary for the company to revise its surcharge rates to reflect the real situation.
New surcharge rates: an increase of almost 100%. The increase means passengers will have to bear fuel surcharges about twice as high as current rates.
Examples of affected flight routes include:
- Bangkok–Milan/London: economy class increases from THB9,990 to THB19,070, and business class from THB18,680 to THB35,750.
- Bangkok–Narita/Seoul: economy class increases from THB5,540 to THB10,630, and business class from THB8,120 to THB15,530.
- Bangkok–Sydney: economy class increases from THB7,410 to THB14,170, and business class from THB10,950 to THB20,930.
- Bangkok–Yangon: economy class increases from THB1,780 to THB3,390, and business class from THB2,580 to THB4,930.
- Bangkok–Beijing: economy class increases from THB4,580 to THB8,760, and business class from THB6,440 to THB12,130.
- Bangkok–Delhi: economy class increases from THB4,580 to THB8,760, and business class from THB6,440 to THB12,130.
For travellers planning trips after this period, Thai Airways said the new fuel surcharge rates would apply to tickets issued from Friday (May 1, 2026) onwards.
Therefore, passengers who have tickets issued by Thursday (April 30, 2026) will still receive the existing rates, even if their travel date is after Friday (May 1, 2026).
The crisis has not only affected air ticket prices. During April, Thai Airways also had to reduce the number of flights and cancel some domestic and international routes to cope with continually rising costs.
