Muscat: The winter travel season is around the corner, but the holiday planners are battling with the likelihood of airfares due to prevailing high crude and aviation fuel prices.
According to OAG analysis, global airfares were up +12.3% year on year, based on four full weeks of departure data. The average airfares were $448 (RO172) in September 2026 compared to $399 (RO153) in 2026, while for October the average airfare is $453 ($174) compared to $412 (RO158) in October 2025.
Despite frequent promotions, airfares continue to be on the higher side this year even during off-peak travel months. The Muscat International Airport saw a drop of 8.2% each in international arrivals and departures in the first nine months of this year, compared to the previous year.
The monthly change vs 2025 was its peak in March at +25.8% but it dropped to +11.1% in April and again rose to +21.6% in May.
The lowest change was +7.7% in July this year following the announcement of temporary agreement between the US and Iran.
The rise in airfares are directly linked to the rising aviation fuel prices, which constitutes to nearly 40% of the airline's operating costs.
The aviation fuel prices which were less than $90 per barrel in February 2026 jumped to over $200 in April and May.
The aviation fuel prices have been in the range of $185 and $194 for most of September and October this year.
For travel planners, according to Skyscanner, there airlines use dynamic pricing systems that can update fares at any time. "The price you see when researching flights depends on different factors, such as how many seats remain in each fare category and how quickly the flight is selling."
"Compare flight prices across several dates, start looking for fares early, and be sure to set up a Price Alert. If your travel dates are fixed and the fare is within your budget, it’s usually best not to delay as there is no guarantee booking at a later date will be cheaper," the Skyscanner says.
"The coming months will reveal whether travelers, whose purchasing power has been reduced by higher energy prices, are adjusting their travel budgets, and might be discouraged from traveling due to the prevailing geopolitical instability,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability, and Chief Economist.
According to sources, the prices drop generally due to lower demand, discounts, competition.
From Oman, Travel to India will get costlier because the country's largest operators have increased fuel surcharges this month. The Indian sector from Oman has been also affected due to the lack of sufficient competition.
The India's largest airlines, Indigo, Air India and Air India Express have increased the surcharge, which will be now Rs5,500 for Southeast Asia, GCC and the Middle East, North and East Asia. At the current exchange levels tickets are likely cost extra by nearly RO22 on flights to Oman.
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