Major airline cuts 20,000 flights to preserve jet fuel amid Iran War

Here's what will happen to long-haul flights

This summer, 20,000 short-haul flights are being cut from its schedule, the airline revealed.

According to Lufthansa, the German flag carrier, most of the cuts come from closing its loss-making CityLine fleet and retiring its 27 aircraft.

Lufthansa blamed the cost of jet fuel, which it said had more than doubled, as well as labour disputes with its workforce.

The 20,000 culled flights would save 40,000 tonnes of jet fuel over the period until October, adding that the cuts only represented 1% of its “available seat kilometres”, Lufthansa said in a statement on Tuesday.

The soaring costs is what most airlines are dealing with these days, as due to the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, Middle East oil supplies remain largely cut off.

Passengers, however, would still be able to access its global route network and long-haul connections, Lufthansa said.

Meanwhile, Ryanair’s boss Michael O'Leary told Sky News this month that if the Strait of Hormuz remained shut, there was a risk fuel supplies could be disrupted from May.

Oil costs were part of the “wider ramifications”, but the more “immediate concern” was jet fuel supplies, he said.