A significant airline has made the tough decision to cancel a large number of flights over the next few months. Lufthansa, a leading German airline, has eliminated 20,000 scheduled flights from its itinerary, marking one of the most extensive flight cancellation instances in the global airline industry. This action is a response to the escalating travel crisis and the surge in jet fuel prices.
The airline giant will be cutting a substantial number of flights between May and October to conserve fuel, as announced in a statement released on Tuesday, April 21. Lufthansa disclosed that approximately 20,000 short-haul flights will be affected, amounting to around 40,000 metric tonnes of jet fuel, the cost of which has doubled since the onset of the Iran conflict.
The airline clarified that the consolidation of the European network will occur across its six key hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels, and Rome. Despite these cancellations, passengers will still have access to the global route network, particularly long-haul connections, in a more efficient manner due to the surging jet fuel prices.
Lufthansa has already halted about 120 daily flights starting from Monday, April 20. The airline plans to release its summer travel schedule in late April or early May, incorporating enhancements to the short-haul services throughout the entire summer season to ensure flight schedule stability.
This update from the second busiest airline in Europe follows remarks made by the head of the International Energy Agency, who warned that Europe might have only about six weeks of jet fuel supply left. Consequently, numerous airlines are taking similar actions, such as canceling flights and implementing additional charges, in response to the deepening jet fuel crisis impacting the global aviation sector.
Lufthansa is just one of more than 30 airlines worldwide that have been compelled to cancel flights or introduce extra charges due to the fallout from the Iran conflict.