Several major airlines have reduced their fuel surcharges in response to the fall in oil prices.

Virgin is the latest airline to reduce its levy on international flights, by £5 to £30.

Lufthansa has reduced its fuel surcharge for long-haul flights from €62 to €52 per sector. The airline says the move is “in response to the sustained drop in crude oil prices over the past several weeks”.

The change takes effect from October 16. The surcharge for German domestic and intra-European flights will remain unchanged at €12 per sector.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines says it is dropping its surcharge from US$60 to US$54 per sector for flights booked after October 14.

The airline said: “In recent weeks, the price of jet fuel has dropped, although the price is still substantially higher than when the decision to impose surcharges was first made. Collections from the fuel surcharges have only ever given partial relief from the cost increase as a result of the high price of jet fuel.”

Air France has also reduced its surcharge. Because oil has stayed below $65 a barrel for 30 consecutive days, it is rolling back its most recent surcharge increase. The surcharges are now €16 per flight on its domestic and European network, €46 on long haul flights between France and US and €49 per flight to other destinations.

By contrast British Airways, which is currently under investigation by the Office of Fair Trading in the UK over allegations of collusion with rivals over long-haul fuel tax charges, is maintaining its fuel surcharge at current levels. It is £8 per flight on short-haul routes and £35 per flight on long-haul routes. A spokeswoman told Times Online Travel that the levy remains "under review".