Two major European airlines have cancelled hundreds of flights as the ongoing conflict in Iran drives up jet fuel prices and threatens supply. Germany's Lufthansa will suspend its CityLine services from Saturday, including flights to and from London, due to soaring kerosene costs and a trade union dispute. Netherlands' KLM has confirmed it cancelled 160 flights over the next month, citing an 'unprecedented' oil shock triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that Europe has only six weeks' supply of jet fuel because of the Middle East conflict. IEA executive director Fatih Birol said the war is causing 'the largest energy crisis' the world has 'ever faced', with Asian nations on the front line, but the impact will 'come to Europe and the Americas' as soon as late May. He cautioned that flight cancellations could occur 'soon' if oil supplies remain restricted.
Lufthansa's CityLine services to destinations including London, Paris, Frankfurt, Florence, Kraków, Stockholm and Copenhagen will be cancelled from Saturday. Multiple daily services from Heathrow have already been pulled from the schedule. A Lufthansa statement said: 'In view of significantly increased kerosene prices, which have more than doubled compared to the period before the Iran war, as well as rising additional burdens from labour disputes, the implementation of the corporate strategy is being partially accelerated.'
Ongoing strikes by pilots and cabin crew have grounded approximately 90% of all Lufthansa Group flights on the worst days this week, with cancellations reported at Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Glasgow. KLM announced 'a number of adjustments to its flight schedule for the coming month' on routes that are 'no longer financially viable to operate', adding that there is 'no kerosene shortage' but costs have risen.
Schedule data from AeroRoutes shows that Norse Airlines has cancelled bookings for its planned Los Angeles flights this summer from London Gatwick, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Rome Fiumicino. Jet prices have more than doubled since the start of the Iran war on February 28, causing the largest wave of cancellations at many major international airports since the Covid pandemic.
