The German airline says 20,000 short-haul flights will be removed from its schedule by October.
Published on 23 April 2026
German airline Lufthansa Group says it will cut 20,000 short-haul flights by October as the Iran war sent oil prices soaring and concerns deepened that some countries could face jet fuel shortages.
Lufthansa said on Thursday it would cancel less profitable routes and focus on flights to and from its hub airports in Frankfurt and Munich, saving about 40,000 tonnes of jet fuel.
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The German company previously said it would ground 27 planes at its short-haul CityLine subsidiary earlier than planned.
The fuel crisis has been caused by the ongoing standoff between the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway where one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies are normally shipped.
The price of jet fuel has more than doubled in some markets since the US-Israeli war over Iran began in late February.
European aviation companies are particularly affected by rising fuel prices as jet fuel is one of their most significant expenses, and they are heavily dependent on imports from the Middle East. About 75 percent of Europe’s jet fuel imports come from the region, making any long-term disruption particularly challenging.
Lufthansa said it had secured enough jet fuel “for the coming weeks” and was taking a number of measures “including physical purchases of jet fuel” to keep its fuel supply stable for the summer.
The global price of jet fuel rose from about $99 a barrel in late February to $209 a barrel in early April, the Associated Press news agency reported.
For travelers, this already means fewer flight options and higher fees in the peak summer season, with many airlines increasing checked bag fees or adding fuel surcharges.
Last week, the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, told the AP that Europe has “probably six weeks or more of jet fuel left,” despite a temporary ceasefire between Iran and the United States, warning of possible flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies remain halted.
The EU’s top energy officials are also warning that the energy crisis sparked by the war could affect prices for months, “or perhaps years” to come.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Wednesday the war was costing Europe about 500 million euros ($600 million) every day. “Even in the best-case scenario,” he said, “it’s still bad,” adding that EU governments are “very concerned” about permanent jet fuel shortages.
