London, May 5, 2026, 21:03 BST
Airlines worldwide have slashed close to 2 million seats and roughly 13,000 flights from May schedules—a swift retreat ahead of the summer rush, as jet fuel prices and supply concerns bite. These cuts are landing right as UK and European half-term holiday travel picks up.
Timing is key. Airlines were still tweaking May schedules as late as April, Cirium figures show. International seat counts slipped from over 132 million on April 10 down to around 130 million by April 21, with more than 13,000 planned flights cut in the process. Cirium also reports European jet fuel prices have surged, more than doubling in the six weeks since late February.
Britain is already taking steps to head off problems. The Department for Transport said fuel supplies remain steady for now, but officials are considering short-term measures that would let airlines merge flights and temporarily return some airport slots—take-off and landing rights—without risking their use next season. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander put it plainly: the government is “preparing now” to dodge chaos at the gate later. Gov
Not every airline’s feeling it the same way. Lufthansa slashed its short-haul flights more than most; Turkish Airlines also ranks high among those trimming schedules. EasyJet? Keeping things steady. Chief Executive Kenton Jarvis said the airline was “not making changes or cancellations.” STV News
Travel experts are distinguishing high fuel prices from a true fuel shortage. Rory Boland, travel editor at Which?, pointed out that Lufthansa’s route reductions are about the expense of operating certain flights, not a sudden fuel supply issue. According to Boland, flights more likely to get the axe are those with multiple departures each day, since passengers can be rebooked onto another available service.
Aviation analysts aren’t seeing the cuts as a one-time move. Richard Evans, senior consultant at Cirium Ascend Consultancy, pointed out that airlines are adjusting capacity in response to Middle East turmoil and fuel prices that have doubled. He said it looks “extremely likely” that more cuts are coming. Growth in available seat kilometres—a standard metric that factors in both seat numbers and distance flown—has slowed and is now undershooting projections. Cirium
There’s a risk here: if the Strait of Hormuz stays shut, what starts as planning could quickly slide into outright rationing. Fatih Birol, who heads the International Energy Agency, told the Associated Press back in April that Europe’s jet fuel supply might last “maybe six weeks or so.” After that, if oil deliveries don’t resume, he warned, airlines could be forced to start canceling flights. AP News
Britain faces vulnerability here, with hefty fuel imports and not much homegrown jet fuel refining to lean on. Goldman Sachs analysts warn that UK stocks might drop to “critically low levels,” pushing the risk of potential rationing. Major UK short-haul airlines have some buffer thanks to hedging — those agreements that secure certain fuel prices ahead of time. Theguardian
