Passengers to face fuel surcharge on Flysafair tickets from Thursday

FlySafair says it has yet to determine a new temporary surcharge to be passed on to travellers booking tickets from Thursday.

The airliner announced on Wednesday that it was forced to make the move following a 70 percent spike in jet fuel costs.

It says the price hikes are directly linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has seen a key oil shipping transit through the Strait of Hormuz shut down.

On Monday, the price of Brent crude surged past the $100 mark before settling down again to $91 per barrel on Wednesday afternoon.

The impact of the conflict in the Middle East is beginning to be felt by South Africans as it begins to hit consumer pockets and threatens to impact inflation, which, until recently, the Reserve Bank had managed to get under control through a firm hold on interest rates.

Two weeks into the war, inflationary pressures on fuel are already being factored in with the potential to trigger a snowball effect on other goods and services.

Chief economist at Investec, Annabel Bishop, said motorists should brace for a R3.52 cents per litre increase at the pumps in April, based on calculations as of Tuesday.

The volatile price of Brent crude oil subsided after the $100 shock to around $88 a barrel by Tuesday, and this afternoon is hovering above $90 a barrel.

FlySafair is not alone in passing fuel costs to consumers, shipping giant Maersk, which transports a wide range of goods, said the security situation in the Middle East is disrupting logistics and customer supply chains.

It is also implementing an emergency bunker surcharge to its clients.

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