Good news about flight prices in South Africa – Except for one destination

FlySafair, South Africa’s largest domestic airline, has reduced the cost of all but one of its flights following further improvements to jet fuel prices.

Since the start of June, the airline has reduced prices since it introduced a temporary fuel surcharge on all tickets purchased after 12 March 2026.

The surcharge was initially only intended to be in place until 12 May 2026, but the Middle East conflict and soaring global fuel prices have meant that FlySafair’s surcharge has remained in place beyond the deadline.

At the time they were introduced, the airline’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kirby Gordon, noted that the decision to implement the surcharge was made to protect the airline’s continued low-cost model.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz led to skyrocketing jet fuel prices, alongside all petroleum products refined in the Middle East.

FlySafair initially shielded passengers from the immediate airfare increases, but was forced to implement the surcharges to ensure its own sustainability.

“The persistence and scale of these fuel costs have left us with no reasonable alternative,” Kirby noted.

According to FlySafair’s fuel surcharge tracking page, the additional fare rose from around R170 for flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town in March to over R800 in April, coming down to around R700 last month.

This month, the airline has reduced surcharges twice, with airline passengers paying significantly less than they did only a few weeks ago.

FlySafair noted that its move to reduce prices will deliver significant savings for travellers, while simultaneously maintaining its commitment to transparency regarding pricing.

Since the implementation, the airline has committed to applying the surcharge transparently, itemising the route-specific fee to reflect actual fuel consumption and reviewing it weekly as market conditions change.

“Instead of increasing fares across the board or hiding costs, we have chosen to introduce a clearly labelled, temporary surcharge,” noted Gordon.

“This gives customers full visibility into what they are paying for and allows us to remove the surcharge once prices stabilise.”

FlySafair attributed the reduction to the improvement in Jet A1 fuel availability and easing refining margins.

How much less you’re paying to fly this week

Flying with FlySafair is significantly cheaper this month compared to May, with shorter routes costing at least R100 less per ticket, while longer routes cost passengers over R400 less per ticket.

That being said, tickets are still significantly more expensive than when these surcharges were first implemented – up to R600 more for flights to destinations like Zanzibar or Mauritius.

Below is a breakdown of current fuel surcharges applicable to FlySafair tickets compared to the same routes at the start of the month.

Every route has seen prices improve throughout the month, except flights between Cape Town and Gqeberha, which have increased by R35.22 per ticket.