South African Airways to increase fuel surcharge from July 1

Passengers booking South African Airways flights tickets to Europe will now have to pay more.

The airline recently announced its plans to increase fuel surcharge on South African Airways flights to Europe in July this year.

South African Airways in a statement said that it is being forced to hike the fuel surcharge as it will have to comply with the directives of the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and is required to pay for ETS charges.

The airline will start charging its customers $1.25 to $2.51 (1 to 2 Euros) effective from July 1, 2012. The airline, however, said that it has decided to charge is customers taking European flights as a mark of protest against the implementation of ETS by the European Union earlier this year.
  
Siza Mzimela, CEO of South African Airways, said that the airline completely support the government’s proposal seeking the suspension of ETS by the European Union for two years in order that a globally equitable and acceptable solution is reached at through negotiations at the UN’s ICAO. The ICAO is a United Nation’s body mandated to formulate and effectively put into implementation global civil aviation standards and regulations.
 
By complying with the EU’s ETS directive and paying, the airline wants to ensure that South African Airways continue to provide flights services to Munich, Frankfurt and London without any sort of sanctions or disruptions.