Airlines cancel 13,000 May flights as Jet fuel crisis worsens: How it impacts you?

Airlines around the world have cancelled around 13,000 flights scheduled for May as a growing jet fuel shortage, linked to the U.S. war against Iran. This crisis has forced carriers to slash capacity.

Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows nearly two million seats have been removed from May flight schedules in just the past two weeks. Total available seats across all airlines globally dropped from 132 million to 130 million during the last two weeks of April alone.

Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways and KLM are among the airlines cutting flights.

Lufthansa, Germany’s flag carrier, has been one of the hardest hit as it has cut around 20,000 short-haul routes from its summer schedule.

The cost of jet fuel has doubled since the start of the Iran war and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil trade route. The shortage has caused jet fuel prices to surge significantly. The prices have doubled since February.

Airlines globally have responded by raising fares on popular routes, fully cancelling flights on less profitable ones and switching to smaller aircraft to conserve fuel.

The two million seats already cut do not include what analysts expect to be a heavily disrupted summer season for passenger aviation.

In the UK, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced a temporary suspension of the rule requiring airlines to use their allocated airport slots or risk losing them to rivals. In practice, this means carriers like British Airways can cancel flights without facing penalties.

Passengers on routes that remain active could still face disruption. Those on popular services whose original flight is cancelled may be rebooked onto departures on a different day, potentially shortening their holidays.