Lufthansa cuts 20,000 summer flights as fuel prices surge

German airline Lufthansa will cut 20,000 Europeanshort-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 Air France-KLM and Delta, have temporarily reduced some flights, while others have increased ticket prices to pass on rising costs to customers.

Analysts have warned that travellers 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.

Lufthansa said on Tuesday it would save roughly 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel through its flight cuts, the majority of which will come from the closure of its CityLine service.

It said this means it will temporarily stop flying to and from Heringsdorf, Cork, Gdańsk, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Sibiu, Stuttgart, Trondheim, Tivat, and Wrocław.

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.

Lufthansa said on Tuesday it would save roughly 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel through its flight cuts, the majority of which will come from the closure of its CityLine service.

It said this means it will temporarily stop flying to and from Heringsdorf, Cork, Gdańsk, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Sibiu, Stuttgart, Trondheim, Tivat, and Wrocław.

The International Energy Agency warned last week that Europe could face a jet fuel shortage within weeks, although the UK government and airlines report no signs of supply disruption.

The EU said on Wednesday it will set up a fuel observatory to track EU production, imports, exports and stock levels of transport fuels to identify potential shortages.

It said it hoped this would “mitigate the impact of high fuel prices and possible fuel shortages on the EU aviation sector”.

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.”