Skyrocketing Fuel Surcharges: How Will 18-Step Hikes Impact Your May Travel Plans?

Travel companies are on edge as the long May holiday approaches. Soaring oil prices and a weak currency tied to the prolonged Middle East crisis have driven fuel surcharges — a major part of airfare costs — sharply upward. With costs climbing, travelers’ appetite has cooled, and new bookings, especially for long-haul routes, are clearly slowing ahead of the busy May season.

On the 7th, travel and airline sources confirmed that international tickets issued from the 1st of this month for April carry a Step 18 fuel surcharge — a 12-step jump from March’s Step 6. With geopolitical risk from the Middle East persisting, May’s international fuel surcharge could even reach Step 33, the system cap. If that happens, the round-trip fuel surcharge on trans-Pacific routes could soar to about 1.1 million KRW per person (≈$825.00 USD) or roughly 4.4 million KRW (≈$3,300.00 USD) for a family of four.

Turning to domestic travel isn’t a simple fix. Major carriers set May’s domestic fuel surcharge at 34,100 KRW one-way (≈$25.58 USD), a 4.4-fold increase (342.8%) from April’s 7,700 KRW (≈$5.78 USD). That jump will push up costs for families planning trips abroad or to Jeju during the May holidays — from Labor Day (May 1) through Children’s Day (May 5) — and could chill overall travel sentiment.

The industry says the real danger is not mass cancellations but a slowdown in new bookings. “Cancellation rates aren’t high right now because many people booked early,” a travel industry source told this outlet. “But the clear drop-off in new reservations, especially for long-haul destinations, is painful. If this trend continues, it’s the biggest worry for us.”

Industry data show new long-haul bookings at domestic travel agencies have fallen about 30% recently. Packages to Europe and the Americas that route through super-hub airports like Dubai saw demand drop roughly 25% year-on-year as of March after war-related disruptions affected operations. Because Europe and U.S. routes generate higher per-customer spending and contribute significantly to agencies’ profits, a prolonged slump will inevitably hit travel agency revenues. Smaller agencies, which are more exposed to external shocks, are likely to feel the pain more acutely.

Still, short-haul package bookings to nearby destinations like China and Japan have climbed in double digits, giving the industry some breathing room even as consumer sentiment cools ahead of May. Travel agencies are responding by steering customers to routes with no extra fuel surcharge and by expanding short-haul options.

But because this crisis stems from uncontrollable external forces, the industry remains on high alert. “We view this situation as very serious,” another agency official said. “The rapid rise in oil prices — something we can’t control — is increasing costs for customers, and our options are limited. Right now, we’re focusing on what we can do, like boosting short-haul sales, and pulling every leaver we have to attract bookings.”