Lufthansa cuts summer flights
- Lufthansa Group is cutting 20,000 summer flights because of an Iran-related jet fuel shock affecting supply chains. - Italy’s aviation regulator ENAC flagged jet fuel shortages at four domestic airports during the Easter travel period. - The cuts signal operational disruption for European summer travel bookings and route planning. (aerotime.aero)
Lufthansa Group is cutting 20,000 short-haul flights through October after jet fuel prices surged and supply fears spread across Europe. (nytimes.com) The airline group said the reductions target “unprofitable short-haul flights” and would save more than 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel. Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways are all part of the group. (euronews.com) Lufthansa said the cuts amount to about 1% of normal summer capacity, with an initial 120 daily cancellations outside CityLine running through the end of May. The group also dropped service to Bydgoszcz and Rzeszów in Poland and Stavanger in Norway. (euronews.com) The pressure is not only about price. Air bp Italia started rationing jet fuel at Milan Linate, Bologna, Treviso and Venice Marco Polo, and Italy’s civil aviation authority said Easter traffic made it harder to meet peak demand. (aerotime.aero) At those Italian airports, medical and government flights and commercial flights longer than three hours were given priority for limited fuel stocks. Industry warnings have since widened beyond Italy, with concern that more European airports could face physical shortages if flows through the Strait of Hormuz do not normalize. (aerotime.aero) The cost shock is already visible in market data. Euronews, citing International Air Transport Association figures, reported Europe’s weekly average jet fuel price at $188 a barrel, up 106.5% from last year’s average. (euronews.com) European officials are now discussing a more direct role in fuel security. Reuters reported that the European Union is considering rules that would require countries to hold jet fuel stockpiles and redistribute them to regions facing shortages. (msn.com) Lufthansa has argued that its multi-hub network lets it keep long-haul connections in place while pulling back thinner short-haul flying. The cuts still land just as summer schedules are being finalized, leaving travelers with fewer frequencies and more rerouting through Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels and Rome. (euronews.com)
