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24-04-2026
BERLIN: German airline Lufthansa will cut 20,000 short-haul flights over the summer, saying soaring fuel prices have made many journeys “unprofitable” for the firm.
Jet fuel has doubled in price since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran as the conflict has slowed its production and transportation across the Middle East.
Several airlines, including KLM-France and Delta, have also temporarily cut some flights while others have raised ticket prices as they pass on expenses to customers.
Analysts have warned that travelers should expect further ticket price rises and more cancelled flights as the conflict continues.
The Gulf is a major source of aviation fuel, accounting for about 50% of Europe’s imports. The bulk of it comes through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed in response to US and Israeli attacks.
The increase in jet fuel prices reflects the role Middle Eastern refineries play in supplies. The Al-Zour refinery in Kuwait alone provides roughly 10% of Europe’s jet fuel imports, according to Energy Intelligence.
The International Energy Agency warned last week that Europe could run out of jet fuel in weeks, though the UK government and airlines say they are not seeing a disruption in supply. Lufthansa said on Tuesday it was cutting down its European network, but that passengers will “continue to have access to the global route network, particularly long-haul connections”.
“However, due to the increase in jet fuel prices, this will be achieved significantly more efficiently than before.”
It said this would save “approximately 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel”.
The announcement on Tuesday comes after the firm said last week it was speeding up the permanent closure of its European flight offering CityLine.
It also said at the time it was retiring the program’s 27 aircraft, partly due to “significantly increased kerosene prices”, but also because of “additional burdens from labor disputes”.
Lufthansa said “the first 120” of these flight cuts were implemented on Tuesday. Routes affected include those from Frankfurt to Poland and Norway.
Europe has “maybe six weeks of jet fuel left”, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned.
Stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East, the organization said in a report this week.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key route for jet fuel out of the Gulf, has been effectively closed by Iran for more than six weeks in response to US and Israeli attacks, sending the price rocketing and prompting fears of shortages.
IEA executive director Fatih Birol told media there could soon be flight cancellations if supplies remained blocked.
In its monthly oil market report, the IEA- which advises 32 member countries on energy supply and security, said exports from the Gulf region were the largest source of jet fuel to the global market.
Refineries in other major exporting countries, such as Korea, India and China were themselves highly dependent on crude oil imports from the Middle East.
As a result, the crisis “has thrown a proverbial wrench into the inner workings of the aviation fuel markets”, it said.
A spokesperson for the UK government told media that it was working with fuel suppliers and airlines to “ensure people keep moving and businesses are supported”.
“UK airlines are clear that they are currently not seeing disruption to supply,” they said. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
