Lufthansa cut 20,000 summer flights due to jet fuel shortage
Lufthansa has confirmed it will be cutting 20,000 flights this summer across Europe amid the ongoing jet fuel shortage.
The flights affected by the decision are only short-haul journeys carried out by its subsidiary Lufthansa CityLine, which reduces Lufthansa Group’s available seat kilometres between June and October by one per cent.
By removing these flights from their schedule, Lufthansa will cut back on using 40,000 metric tonnes of jet fuel, which they say has doubled in price since the Iran conflict began.
In a statement, Lufthansa shared, “The schedule adjustments reduce the number of unprofitable short-haul flights across the Lufthansa Group network. The planned consolidation of the European network is being carried out across Lufthansa Group’s six hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels, and Rome.”
They continued, “Passengers will therefore continue to have access to the global route network, particularly long-haul connections. However, due to the increase in jet fuel prices, this will be achieved significantly more efficiently than before.”
The airline group also clarified, “The medium-term route planning for the coming months is being revised considering the capacity reduction and will be published in late April or early May.”
Lufthansa’s decision comes after the International Energy Agency executive director, Fatih Birol, warned last week that Europe has only “six weeks or so” of jet fuel left due to oil supplies being blocked by the Iran War.
Birol also declared it as “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced.”
It has not only impacted European airlines with Asian airlines, including Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, Malaysia’s Air Asia X and Air New Zealand, all cutting flights in recent weeks, according to the Financial Times.
