South Africa’s biggest airline slashes flight prices

South Africa’s largest airline, FlySafair, has announced that it has reduced the temporary fuel surcharge imposed on flyers for the second consecutive week.

The surcharges, which were introduced to protect FlySafair’s long-term stability and low-fare offerings, have been reviewed and adjusted weekly, in line with fluctuating jet fuel prices.

At the time these were implemented, FlySafair Chief Marketing Officer Kirby Gordon explained that the surcharges would remain in place until at least 12 May, adding that tickets would clearly highlight the separate fuel surcharge.

“We will be specifically itemising this temporary dynamic fuel surcharge on all tickets to ensure fairness and transparency to our customers,” he said.

Since then, Jet A1 fuel prices have trended slightly downward, following their initial spike triggered by the Middle East conflict.

FlySafair explained that while reductions are encouraging, Jet A1 prices remain more than double their pre-conflict levels, meaning the surcharges will remain in place until prices stabilise at sustainable levels.

The airline noted that the current levy, which reflects actual fuel consumption per journey, will remain in place until 21 August 2026.

“When we introduced this surcharge in March, we made a commitment: it would be dynamic, reviewed weekly, and reduced as soon as fuel pricing allowed,” said Gordon.

“We’ve adjusted the levy every week since it was introduced, and these two consecutive reductions reflect that commitment in action.”

He explained that the surcharge is not a revenue mechanism and instead moves directly with the airline’s actual fuel costs.

FlySafair assured its customers that existing bookings made before the introduction of the surcharge on 12 March 2026 will not be affected or incur retrospective charges.

Should an existing booking be changed, and its departure date fall within the current surcharge period, the surcharge will apply.

Air fares adjusted in line with fuel usage

FlySafair’s latest surcharge amounts per route are outlined below, alongside their changes from last week.

Live amounts can be viewed on the airline’s website, where a week-on-week toggle allows customers to track how the levy has moved over time.

In line with FlySafair’s commitment to customers, these surcharges increase only as flight distances increase.

As a result, flying from Johannesburg to Nelspruit, or Cape Town to George, incurs a much lower fee than longer flights to international destinations like Zanzibar or Mauritius.