Airlines have cancelled 120 flights from the UK this month amid soaring jet fuel prices and growing concerns over supply shortages, according to new data.
Flight Cancellations and Capacity Reductions
Aviation analytics firm Cirium reported that carriers have axed 120 out of 22,613 departures initially scheduled from UK airports in May, equivalent to 0.53% of all flights. The number of outbound flights planned for June has also fallen by 36 compared to a week ago, representing a 0.2% reduction and a loss of 7,972 seats.
The final week of May is a peak period for holidays, coinciding with half-term breaks at many schools.
Global Impact
Globally, some 13,005 flights scheduled for May were cancelled between April 10 and April 21, amounting to 1.5% of all planned departures. This reduced capacity by nearly two million seats.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, a network of independent travel agents, noted that airlines are “assessing poor performance flights and consolidating or cancelling as required.” She added that UK departures to popular summer hotspots “remain unaffected” and insisted that “customers can continue to book with confidence.”
Industry Warnings
Paul Charles, founder of travel consultancy The PC Agency, warned: “Airlines are now being forced to cut flights and make difficult decisions ahead of the peak season. It is better for them to cancel flights well in advance so that passengers are less inconvenienced than a last-minute change of plan. As the Iran conflict continues, there will need to be many more cancellations as the jet fuel supply is squeezed.”
Lufthansa’s airline group announced in April it would cancel 20,000 flights over the following six months to save fuel.
Geopolitical Factors
Iran continues to exert control over tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a surge in oil prices and heightened concerns over jet fuel shortages. However, on Sunday, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander stated that summer holiday plans will not face major disruption due to the fuel issues.
She revealed that more fuel has been imported from the United States, while refineries have increased their production. The government has also introduced a temporary rule change allowing airlines to group passengers from different flights together onto fewer planes to conserve fuel.
