Carriers in Europe recoil over jet fuel prices, forcing them to sharply cut flight schedules and pass on charges to travellers ahead of the peak season.
The ripple effect of the Middle East conflict continues to rattle Europe’s commercial aviation sector amid sky high costs for jet fuel.
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The latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) point to a 105.7% increase in jet fuel prices in Europe since last year, leaving summer travel plans hanging in the balance as carriers like Turkish Airlines, Transavia France and Lufthansa ground planes and suspend flight routes.
Here are the latest airlines to announce they’ve been hit by the jet fuel crisis.
Transavia
Dutch-owned carrier Transavia, part of the Air France-KLM group, is cancelling some flights between May and June.
The low-cost airline said affected passengers would be able to choose between a voucher, full refund or free rebooking, which will be offered within 24 hours for the majority of cancelled flights.
“The current geopolitical context in the Middle East and its repercussions on the price of aviation fuel” is what caused the cancellations, Transavia said in a statement to AP, without mention of which flight paths have been axed.
KLM also previously announced that it is cancelling 160 flights to and from Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands in May, which is less than 1% of its European flights during that period. The Dutch carrier pointed to rising kerosene costs, making the flights no longer financially viable to operate.
Turkish Airlines
Türkiye’s flag carrier is reportedly suspending 18 flight routes and trimming frequencies across its network.
According to Aeroroutes, an independent airline schedule and route tracking platform, Turkish Airlines’ latest summer and early winter schedules will be impacted, with suspensions taking place from May and June.
These changes span European, African and Asian routes, including Istanbul to Hurghada, where the latest flight is scheduled to operate 2 June and all 2027 services have been removed.
“Suspended international destinations include Aqaba, Billund, Bissau, Ferghana, Freetown, Havana, Hurghada, Juba, Kinshasa, Kirkuk, Leipzig/Halle, Libreville, Luanda, Lusaka, Monrovia, Najaf, Pointe Noire and Turkistan,” Aeroroutes said.
Ver Angola reported that the Portuguese National Civil Aviation Authority was notified that flights to the Angolan capital Luanda will be suspended from 3 May until 25 November, “with a view to resume flights as soon as circumstances allow".
Other flight path watchdogs report that in Sarajevo, an average of three weekly services will no longer be operating from July, as well as a reduction of on to two weekly services from Zagreb starting in June.
Just last month, Turkish Airlines announced it added London Stansted routes to its UK network, with 15 weekly frequencies.
Meanwhile, SunExpress, a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, will introduce a €10 “temporary fuel surcharge” on passengers from May, covering all routes from Türkiye to Europe.
According to The Independent in the UK, passengers booking flights on or after 1 April for travel from 1 May onwards will be subject to the additional fee.
This comes as Lufthansa announced earlier this month that it had grounded 20,000 flights in a bid to curb jet fuel costs.
Is it all gloom and doom for our plans and wallets?
The Independent also reported that German tourism giant TUI will not be increasing holiday prices for customers who have already booked their holidays.
“Our teams are here to support people who are thinking about booking, and those who have already booked with TUI can be reassured that their holiday price is fixed, with no fuel surcharges added," said Neil Swanson, managing director of TUI UK & Ireland.
