Lufthansa cuts 20,000 flights as fuel costs surge, travel expert warns of more turmoil ahead

Lufthansa Group is canceling about 20,000 unprofitable short-haul flights from its summer schedule through October as jet fuel prices have doubled since the US-Iranian war began on February 28.

The disruption began on Monday with the suspension of services from Munich and Frankfurt. The company primarily targets less profitable routes from Germany’s two largest hubs. Affected passengers are being notified and offered alternative travel dates, according to Bloomberg.

The company initially removed 120 flights effective until the end of May. Broader reductions will be announced by late April or early May.

To keep its global network functioning while curbing losses, Lufthansa has consolidated its route map around six main hubs and suspended many direct links to European cities. Passengers on long-haul departures from Germany will route via Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels, or Rome, with the group planning to expand selected services in Zurich, Vienna, and Brussels.

The group said its jet fuel supply is secured for the coming weeks through procurement and price hedging and expects largely stable supplies for the summer schedule. Even so, it has framed the large-scale cancellations as a more efficient response to the steep fuel-price surge, with savings in fuel burn and limited capacity impact set against routes that have become unprofitable.

The scale of the retrenchment extends to fleet and regional operations. Lufthansa is suspending operations for 27 active aircraft of its regional carrier CityLine from the summer schedule and shutting down the unit. The planned retirement of the CityLine aircraft predates the war, but the conflict accelerated the timeline, according to Deutsche Welle.

The cuts come amid a broader capacity pullback across the industry. Global airline capacity for May has been reduced by about 3 percents, with nearly all of the 20 largest carriers trimming flights, based on data from aviation analytics company Cirium. Several international airlines, including Air France-KLM and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), have reduced European routes. SAS cancelled approximately one thousand flights because of high fuel costs.

Travel expert Odd Roar Lange believes Lufthansa’s 20,000 flight cancellations are only the beginning and expects more to follow. He said many people may change their summer plans, with staying home the most cost-effective option.

The price of jet fuel has doubled since the start of the US-Iranian war on February 28, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz contributing to a wider energy crisis as Iran tightens its grip on navigation through the waterway. The situation has carried economic repercussions, with European citizens facing higher costs as supply routes remain constrained. The International Energy Agency’s executive director warned that Europe might only have six weeks of jet fuel supply left if current maritime disruptions persist. European transport ministers met to discuss plans to prevent a shortage of jet fuel in the region.