Seoul: South Korea's low-cost carriers (LCCs) are cutting international flights to mitigate the impact of surging fuel costs amid prolonged tensions in the Middle East, industry sources said Thursday. Air Premia Co. plans to suspend 10 flights on its Incheon-San Francisco and Incheon-New York routes in May, following an earlier decision to cancel 26 flights on the Incheon-Los Angeles route and six on the Incheon-Honolulu route between April 20 and May 31, the sources said.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Eastar Jet Co. plans to suspend 50 flights on the Incheon-Phu Quoc route from May 5 to May 31, citing limited local refueling conditions in Vietnam. Air Busan Co. and Aero K Airlines Co. have already reduced flights on some international routes starting in April.

The country's three largest LCCs -- Jeju Air Co., T'way Air Co., and Jin Air Co. -- are also considering cutting services on select Southeast Asian routes, according to industry watchers. Jet fuel prices in Asia and Oceania rose 16.6 percent to US$204.95 per barrel in the week of March 13-20, compared with the previous week, and were sharply higher than the prior month's average, according to the International Air Transport Association.