Fiji Airways is monitoring a spike in jet fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East, with the airline considering a fuel levy or fare increases to sustain its operations.

Chief Executive Paul Scurrah states that because fuel accounts for 30 to 40 percent of operating costs, recovering these expenses is necessary to ensure the airline continues flying to all its vital destinations.

While fare hikes may be imminent, Scurrah says the airline has no intention of making short-term manpower cuts and is maintaining constant contact with suppliers to ensure adequate fuel reserves remain available.

He says the national carrier is keeping close tabs on the developments in the Middle East.

“Our fuel prices are subject to increases. So we do have to monitor that every day to make sure that we are recovering as much of that increase as we can through our fares”

Scurrah says they will not take any haste actions that could affect the tourism industry.

“Fiji Airways’ contribution to the Fiji tourism industry is a responsibility that we take extremely seriously. We don’t see the need to pull back or to reduce the number of seats we’ve got coming in and out of Fiji now. And we will do everything we can to make sure that we hold our capacity at its current level into the future.”

The tourism operators are also wary of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Rosie Holidays General Manager Eroni Puamau says this is an issue not to be taken lightly.

“This is a big concern of what’s happening in terms of the Middle East war and the crisis on fuel prices, so it has an impact not just on the transport logistics but also on the overall costs of operations”

The airline says maintaining reliable international connections remains a priority, and any decision on fare changes will depend on how global fuel prices move in the coming weeks.

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