Germany's flagship airline Lufthansa is set to cancel 20,000 flights from June to October 2026 to save on aviation fuel amid the energy crisis triggered by the US and Israel's conflict with Iran. This was announced on Tuesday, April 21, in a press release from Europe's largest airline.
Lufthansa representatives believe that canceling these flights will save over 40,000 tons of fuel. Meanwhile, the airline's efficiency, measured in available seat-kilometers (this metric equals the number of available seats multiplied by the number of kilometers traveled), will decrease by less than one percentage point. According to Lufthansa, this will be achieved by cutting unprofitable short-haul routes from Frankfurt and Munich while simultaneously expanding existing flights from Zurich, Vienna, and Brussels. Changes will also affect the airline's sixth hub in Rome.
Lufthansa promised to announce which flights won't be operating from June to October by the end of April. However, the company is already canceling flights scheduled before May 31. For example, on April 20, Lufthansa canceled the first 120 daily flights. Specifically, flights from Frankfurt to Polish cities Bydgoszcz and Rzeszów, as well as to Norwegian Stavanger, have been temporarily suspended.
A week earlier, Lufthansa prematurely retired all 27 CityLine aircraft.
On April 16, Lufthansa announced the early retirement of all 27 "Canadair CRJ aircraft nearing their technical limits" from its unprofitable subsidiary CityLine. The carrier took this step due to rising costs—particularly for aviation fuel amidst the war and labor disputes.
At that time, Lufthansa announced that by October it would retire four Airbus A340-600 and two Boeing 747-400 aircraft operating long-haul flights. In winter, the airline plans to reduce the volume of available seat-kilometers for the main Lufthansa brand.
Other airlines are also canceling flights.
Lufthansa isn't the only airline forced to take measures due to instability in the Middle East and rising energy costs. For instance, SAS Scandinavian Airlines based in Stockholm will cancel around a thousand flights in April, while French Air France-KLM has increased the surcharge to 100 euros on already sold tickets for long-haul flights. Moldovan FlyOne has also announced flight cancellations due to fuel issues.
The European Commission is expected to present a plan to tackle the energy crisis caused by the Middle Eastern conflict on April 22.
#USIsraelStrikeIran , #WorldNews2026
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