Lufthansa, the German flag carrier, has announced the cancellation of its direct route between Glasgow and Frankfurt, effective from the end of May, as part of a broader cut of 20,000 short-haul flights this summer. The airline cited soaring jet fuel costs driven by the conflict in the Middle East as the primary reason for the reductions.
The Glasgow-Frankfurt service, which launched in 2018, will see its last flight on 31 May. Passengers will instead be offered connections via Zurich with Edelweiss, a subsidiary, providing access to the Swiss International Air Lines network.
A Lufthansa Group spokesman said: 'Following the decision to discontinue Lufthansa CityLine flights effective immediately and to reduce unprofitable flights in the future due to high kerosene prices, the Lufthansa Group’s summer schedule will be reduced by just under one percent of available seat-kilometres.' He added that the cancellations would be implemented by the end of October.
Lufthansa is not alone in reacting to the fuel crisis. Scandinavian airline SAS has cancelled over 1,000 flights, while United Airlines in the US has cut 5% of its short-term schedule. Virgin Atlantic has introduced surcharges of £50 for economy, £180 for premium economy and £360 for business class, although the airline admits these do not cover the full cost increase.
Jet fuel prices have more than doubled since the onset of the conflict, rising from $85–$90 per barrel to $150–$200 per barrel. Fuel now accounts for 27% of airlines’ operating expenses, second only to labour costs. Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive, Corneel Koster, stated: 'We have never seen jet fuel at these levels... The industry cannot absorb increases like this.'
