German airline Lufthansa has announced that it will cut 20,000 flights in the coming months due to the ongoing war in Iran, which has led to a continuous increase in aviation fuel costs.
In a press release on Tuesday, Lufthansa Group stated that the flight schedule adjustments will impact unprofitable short-haul flights in Europe until the end of October. The airline mentioned that flight adjustments for the end of May have already been implemented with affected passengers receiving notifications on Monday, while the adjustments for flights until October will be announced in late April.
The airline also noted that some of the schedule adjustments include the cancellation of routes from Frankfurt and Munich and the addition of routes to Zurich, Vienna, and Brussels.
Currently, there is a global shortage of aviation fuel, with most fuel needing to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely blocked during the conflict in Iran.
According to the Platts Jet Fuel Price Index, global aviation fuel costs have risen by over 85% since the outbreak of the war at the end of February. The International Energy Agency’s Executive Director, Fatih Birol, warned last week that Europe “may only have six weeks of aviation fuel left” and predicted that if fuel supply continues to be disrupted, flight cancellations could occur rapidly.
Despite ensuring that its aviation fuel supply is secured for the coming weeks, Lufthansa stated that schedule adjustments could save “more than 40,000 tons” of fuel.
Other airlines have also taken similar measures to secure aviation fuel supply and cope with rising oil prices. KLM Dutch Royal Airlines announced the cancellation of 160 flights, mostly to and from Amsterdam, due to increased costs. Norse Atlantic Airways also canceled all flights to Los Angeles for the same reasons.
In the United States, United Airlines announced reductions in flight schedules due to the uncertainty of aviation fuel costs, while most major airlines increased baggage fees.
Due to the closure of major Middle Eastern aviation hubs such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi as a result of the conflict in Iran, airlines like Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, and Edelweiss have temporarily suspended flights to Dubai and Tel Aviv until May 31. They have also stopped flights to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, El-Birel, Muscat, and Tehran until October 24.
(Source: Congressional Hill Report)