Lufthansa to cancel 20,000 flights amid fuel crisis in EU triggered by war on Iran
Germany’s Lufthansa, Europe’s largest airline group, has announced that it will cancel 20,000 uneconomic short-haul flights from its European summer schedule, as jet fuel prices have surged since the start of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran.
In a statement late Tuesday, Lufthansa said the cuts will amount to one percent of available seat-kilometres and save around 40,000 tons of jet fuel.
The first 120 cancellations were implemented on Tuesday, effective until the end of May. By late April or early May, broader reductions through to the end of the summer scheduling season will be unveiled.
Since the start of the aggression, Lufthansa has taken some of the most drastic steps among global airlines, as serious strikes by pilots and cabin crew also hit it.
Last week, the airline announced the shutdown of its Cityline regional unit and the grounding of 27 older, fuel-guzzling aircraft.
European Union Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said on Tuesday that the coming summer will be difficult for Europe due to fuel shortages caused by the aggression against Iran and the ensuing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
He added that the EU is preparing measures to curb the impact the war is having on jet fuel supply.
“If needed, we may redistribute and share jet fuel resources we have,” Jorgensen told reporters in Madrid, as nearly 75 percent of Europe’s jet fuel supply comes from West Asia.
On April 17, Iran had declared the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial shipping, weeks after it was shut down to vessels associated with the US, Israel and their allies following the launch of an unprovoked war of aggression against the Islamic Republic on February 28.
However, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy said the following day that the Strait was closed again after the United States refused to lift its blockade of Iranian ports in violation of the April 8 ceasefire.
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