The German airline Lufthansa will cancel 20,000 short-haul flights over the coming months, after indicating that the rapid increase in fuel prices makes numerous routes unprofitable for the company.
The price of aircraft fuel has doubled since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran, as the conflict slowed its production and transportation in the Middle East.
Several airlines, including KLM-France and Delta, also temporarily canceled some flights, while others increased ticket prices, passing costs on to customers.
Analysts warn that travelers should expect further increases in ticket prices and more flight cancellations as the conflict drags on.
The Gulf is a major source of aviation fuel, accounting for about 50% of Europe’s imports.
Most of this supply transits through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed in response to attacks by the United States and Israel.
Lufthansa stated that the planned cancellations would allow it to save “approximately 40,000 metric tons of aircraft fuel.”
It indicated that it will temporarily suspend flights to and from Heringsdorf, Cork, Gdańsk, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Sibiu, Stuttgart, Trondheim, Tivat and Wrocław.
The company will refund the ticket price to affected passengers or relocate them to alternative flights with one of its other airlines – SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways – whenever possible.
Some of the flight cuts could become permanent. Lufthansa announced that it is reviewing its entire European schedule and will release more details later in April.
Europe without fuel
The International Energy Agency warned last week that Europe could run out of fuel for aircraft within weeks, although the UK government and airlines say they have not recorded any disruption to supplies.
The European Union announced that it will establish a fuel observatory to monitor production, imports, exports and stock levels of transport fuels within the bloc, in order to identify potential shortage situations.
He added that he hopes that this measure will serve to “mitigate the impact of high fuel prices and possible shortages on the EU aviation sector.”
Lufthansa announced on Tuesday that it would reduce its European network, but that passengers “will continue to have access to the global route network, in addition to long-haul connections.”
“However, due to rising aircraft fuel prices, this will be accomplished in a significantly more efficient manner than before.”
The announcement came after Lufthansa reported last week that it would accelerate the definitive closure of its European CityLine flight offering and that it would withdraw 27 aircraft due to the “significant increase” in fuel prices and “additional burdens arising from labor disputes.”
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