Kathmandu: Airfares in Nepal are set to increase following a sharp rise in aviation fuel prices. Nepal Oil Corporation has raised the price of domestic aviation fuel by Rs 124 per litre, effective Wednesday morning.
The corporation said the price of aviation fuel imported from India has gone up by Rs 123.80 per litre. As a result, the domestic rate has more than doubled, from Rs 127 per litre to Rs 251.
With such a steep increase in fuel costs, airlines are expected to raise fuel surcharges along with ticket prices. Nepali carriers follow an automatic pricing mechanism, adjusting fuel surcharges in line with fluctuations in aviation fuel prices.
The hike comes amid rising global fuel prices driven by ongoing tensions in West Asia, which have pushed up export prices from India to Nepal. Nepal Oil Corporation applies an automatic pricing system, increasing or decreasing rates based on import costs.
To shield consumers from further burden, the corporation has not increased the prices of other petroleum products despite higher import costs. Petrol prices have risen by Rs 41.60 per litre, diesel by Rs 94.93, and LPG by Rs 190.36 per cylinder at the import level, but retail prices remain unchanged.
The corporation stated that holding prices steady for other fuels will result in a loss of Rs 13.21 billion within just 15 days. For now, it has chosen to pass on the cost increase only to aviation fuel.
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