AirAsia Malaysia brings back fuel surcharges due to escalating fuel prices

The fuel surcharges will be applicable for new flight bookings made on and after March 8. All bookings made prior to March 8 will not be affected.

"Fuel surcharge rates for all domestic routes within Malaysia are RM10 while rates for international routes within one to two hours are RM25.

"Meanwhile, rates for international routes for two to three hours, three to four hours and more than four hours are RM35, RM50 and RM60, respectively," the low-cost airline said in a statement today.

AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat said airlines the world over are affected by the rising oil prices and the upward spiral caused by the situation in Eastern Europe as well as other external factors.

"Since we last abolished fuel surcharges in 2015, when the global fuel price was as low as US$48 per barrel, we faced numerous occasions when the fluctuations caused other airlines to start imposing surcharges.

"However, AirAsia had been absorbing past increases in oil prices to continue to provide the best value to our guests.

"Unfortunately, the current situation, where the oil price has shot up more than 160 per cent than what it was in 2015, has made it no longer sustainable," he said.

Riad hopes this will only be a temporary measure and will continue to monitor the situation.

At the same time, he said the airline plans to capitalise on technological and digital innovations as ways to keep costs at bay and make air travel affordable.