Two million airline seats have been cut from May’s schedules as airlines redraw their operations because of soaring jet fuel prices
Roughly 13,000 fewer flights will run globally in May (stock photo)(Image: Getty)
More than 100 Heathrow flights have vanished from next month’s schedule as jet fuel prices surge amid the continuing US-Iran war.
Airport bosses have scrapped 111 services, sparking fears that a squeeze on long‐term fuel supplies could trigger even more chaos for British holidaymakers this summer. Airlines were warned over the weekend they may be given extra powers to merge flights on busy routes if the crisis worsens.
It comes as a staggering two million seats have already been wiped from May’s global schedules, with carriers ripping up their timetables as the Middle East conflict sends fuel costs soaring, reports the Mirror.
Oil costs have risen sharply since the US-Iran war began over two months ago, when the US and Israel conducted joint strikes on several important Iranian locations. Iran responded by attacking sites throughout the Middle East and blocking the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping channel, through which 20% of global oil traded passes.
Roughly 13,000 fewer flights will run globally in May following recent cancellations, based on figures from aviation analytics firm Cirium. Some of the two million seats have been eliminated by deploying smaller aircraft and outright cancellations.
The most significant reductions in flight numbers are from Istanbul and Munich. Turkish Airlines and Germany’s Lufthansa have implemented substantial cuts. Lufthansa has axed 20,000 short-haul flights, operated by its CityLine subsidiary. Most short-haul airlines operating across the UK have secured strong hedging positions on aviation fuel. This means they are not anticipating immediate rises in costs.
Low-cost operators EasyJet and Wizz Air have pledged to run their summer timetables in their entirety, despite mounting pressure on the unhedged element of their fuel expenditure.
The sector reports no current supply shortfalls, given the typical six-week advance visibility of provision, though international bodies have warned that Europe could encounter jet fuel shortages should the Middle East conflict continue to interrupt supplies.
The UK Government has indicated that extraordinary steps could be implemented proactively to prevent last-minute disruption for holidaymakers during the summer period. This encompasses merging timetables on routes where several flights to the identical destination operated on the same day.
Ministers explained that where airlines have not sold a substantial proportion of seats, services may also be scrapped to avoid squandering fuel by running nearly empty aircraft.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has stated there were no “immediate supply issues”, but the Government was “preparing now to give families long-term certainty and avoid unnecessary disruption at the departure gate this summer”.
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