Frankfurt, April 24, 2026, 14:59 CEST
- Lufthansa will remove 20,000 short-haul flights through October, cutting less than 1% of capacity but saving more than 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel.
- The first 120 daily cancellations are already in place through May 31, with Frankfurt routes to Bydgoszcz, Rzeszów and Stavanger temporarily suspended.
- The move lands as jet fuel prices squeeze carriers across Europe ahead of the peak summer travel season.
Lufthansa Group will cut 20,000 short-haul flights from its summer schedule through October, one of the sharpest airline pullbacks so far from a surge in jet fuel costs tied to the Iran conflict. The German carrier said the cuts would save more than 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel and reduce group capacity by less than 1% in available seat kilometers, an industry measure of seats offered multiplied by distance flown.
The timing matters because the summer booking season is moving into its busiest stretch while fuel has become a harder cost to absorb. Reuters reported that jet fuel prices have risen from about $85-$90 a barrel to $150-$200 in recent weeks, a major shock for an industry where fuel can account for up to a quarter of operating costs.
The cuts are aimed mainly at unprofitable short-haul flying in Frankfurt and Munich, while the group shifts traffic across its six hubs: Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels and Rome. Lufthansa said passengers would still have access to long-haul connections, but with fewer feeder flights and more consolidated European routes.
The first wave is already visible. Lufthansa said 120 daily cancellations were implemented this week and will run through May 31, with affected passengers notified. Routes from Frankfurt to Bydgoszcz and Rzeszów in Poland and Stavanger in Norway have been temporarily removed from the schedule, while 10 other connections are being consolidated through other group hubs.
The group said its jet fuel supply was secured for the coming weeks and that it expected a largely stable supply for scheduled summer flights. It said it was using physical fuel procurement and price hedging, a financial tool used to lock in or limit exposure to future fuel-price swings.
Lufthansa’s move follows a broader cost-cutting plan announced last week, when the airline said it would permanently withdraw 27 aircraft from its CityLine subsidiary and remove four older Airbus A340-600 long-haul aircraft from the Lufthansa core fleet at the end of the summer schedule. Reuters also reported that the carrier was facing a dispute with pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit over pensions.
Rico Luman, a senior economist at ING Research in Amsterdam, called the Lufthansa cuts “massive” and told NPR they could be “the start of more announcements” from European airlines. KLM and Scandinavian Airlines have also announced schedule reductions, though not on Lufthansa’s scale. Wunc
The pressure is not limited to Lufthansa. Reuters said Air France-KLM planned to raise long-haul ticket prices, KLM would cancel 160 European flights in the coming month, and SAS would cancel 1,000 flights in April after earlier reductions. United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby said fares may need to rise 15% to 20% to offset fuel costs.
A study by campaign group Transport & Environment said the fuel-price rise had added 88 euros, or $104, to the average fuel cost per passenger on long-haul flights leaving Europe, and 29 euros on flights within Europe. Diane Vitry, T&E’s aviation director, said the crisis showed Europe’s exposure to “foreign oil,” not only to climate rules that airlines have criticised. Reuters
There is still room for the picture to change. If fuel flows normalize, Lufthansa’s less-than-1% capacity cut may prove enough to steady schedules. If shortages worsen, the risk is a messier summer: fewer seats, later cancellations and more pressure on regulators to ration fuel or relax airport slot rules.
The International Air Transport Association warned last week that Europe could start seeing cancellations by late May for lack of jet fuel and called for “well-communicated and well-coordinated plans” if rationing becomes necessary. IATA said it represents more than 360 airlines accounting for about 85% of global air traffic. Iata
