London - British Airways (BA) Tuesday announced an increase of the fuel surcharge on tickets to reflect "continuing high oil prices."

The changes will come into effect on Friday.

The surcharge for short-haul flights is to increase by 6 pounds (12 dollars) to 26 pounds per return flight.

For long-haul flights of less than nine hours, the surcharge for a return flight will rise from 106 pounds to 126 pounds.

The highest increase of 30 pounds applies to long-haul flights of more than nine hours which will go up from 128 pounds for a return trip to 158 pounds. (dpa)