With jet fuel remaining at record highs amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a number of airlines have started to cancel flights to run only the most profitable routes.
Delta Air Lines and Air Canada each trimmed six routes to different U.S. cities from its summer flying schedule while Dutch flag carrier KLM canceled 160 flights initially scheduled between May and September 2026. Multiple other North American, European and Asian airlines have all also been significantly reworking their networks.
“Due to rising kerosene costs, [these route] are currently no longer financially viable to operate,” KLM said in a statement on the cancelations of the routes from Schiphol Airport.
Aer Lingus cancels more than 500 flights, says “passengers are being rebooked”
The latest carrier to announce widespread route cuts is Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus. The airline confirmed reporting that it is canceling 500 flights, or roughly 2% of its summer schedule, scheduled for the coming months. But instead of directly naming jet fuel prices, an Aer Lingus spokesperson said that the planes used to run these flights need to undergo “mandatory maintenance.”
The cancelations affect both short routes to nearby European cities and longer transatlantic flights. Many of the carrier’s routes to cities such as London, Manchester, Amsterdam and Berlin have all been changed to be run fewer times in the week.
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“Passengers are being rebooked on alternative flights the day before, the day after or offered other change or refunds,” Irish Travel Agents Association CEO Clare Dunne said in a statement. “Travel agents are as always working through these changes with their customers to ensure least possible disruption.”
Aer Lingus’ lack of elaboration on what “mandatory maintenance” means have led some to speculate on whether it was downplaying the jet fuel situation or something else, such as the airline’s persistent pilot shortage, could be behind the cancelations. Contrary to U.S. airlines, European carriers will traditionally hedge their jet fuel needs at least a year ahead.
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What it means for you if airlines start canceling flights over jet fuel costs
Irish Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien told a local news station that the country’s jet fuel reserves are “robust” through partnerships with the U.S. and that there is at least a 70-day reserve.
Even so, the widespread nature of the route cuts have sown concern among travelers that a domino effect of more cancelations will eventually follow. At the start of April, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said that it and “all other airlines would have to start looking at canceling some flights or taking some capacity out” by the summer of 2026.
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Last week, the International Energy Agency issuing recommendations on global energy policy also warned that multiple European countries could “start to face shortages of jet fuel in the next six weeks.”
“I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from City A to City B might be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel,” Executive Director Fatih Birol said in an interview with the Associated Press.
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