Full list of airlines cancelling flights as they face jet fuel shortages

Airspace closures following the outbreak of the war in the Middle East on February 28 have had a major impact on air travel and while much of the region’s airspace has since reopened, many people are avoiding flying there because of the conflict.

A raft of European airlines have also recently alerted over impending jet fuel shortages within weeks, given the disruption to their main supply route through the Strait of Hormuz.

Around three quarters of Europe’s jet fuel supply comes from the Middle East and travels through the crucial shipping route.

Fuel and labour costs are typically the largest annual expenses for airlines.

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Delta Air said this month that the tab for higher fuel would add $2 billion to its second-quarter costs. Airlines, including JetBlue and United Airlines, are raising bag fees to offset skyrocketing fuel costs while others scale back services.

Jet2 and TUI have released statements.

Elsewhere, the International Energy Agency director Fatih Birol said last week that Europe has “maybe six weeks” of remaining jet fuel supplies and said the global economy faces its “largest energy crisis”.

Below is a full alphabetical list of the measures being taken by airlines globally in an effort to offset costs.

All the airlines taking measures amid the jet fuel shortage:

• Aegean Airlines: Expects suspended Middle East flights to and from Greece and a spike in fuel prices to have a “notable impact” on first-quarter results.
• AirAsia X: Cut 10% of flights across the Malaysian group and introduced a fuel surcharge of about 20%.
• Air Canada: To suspend services to New York’s JFK International Airport over the summer.
• Air France-KLM: Plans to increase long-haul ticket prices, with cabin fares up by 50 euros per round trip to address surging fuel costs. Dutch arm KLM will cancel 160 European flights in the coming month due to rising fuel costs.
• Air India: Moving from a flat domestic fuel surcharge to a distance-based grid. Bosses say surcharges on international routes do not cover the rise in fuel prices.
• Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON): Nigerian airlines temporarily suspended a planned nationwide shutdown after government intervention, pending talks on April 22, while demanding relief from upfront payment requirements and high fuel costs.
• Air New Zealand: The airline has slashed flights through May and June, hiked fares, and suspended its full-year earnings forecast due to fuel market volatility.
• Akasa Air: Introducing a fuel surcharge of 199 to 1300 Indian rupees on domestic and international flights.

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• Alaska Air: Increasing first checked bag fees by $5, second by $10, and third checked bag from $50 to $200 on North American and Hawaiian Airlines flights.
• American Airlines: Raising checked baggage fees by $10 each for first and second bags and by $150 for the third on domestic and short-haul international routes. Trimming some benefits for economy passengers and expecting a $400m rise in first-quarter expenses due to fuel prices.
• Asiana Airlines: Cutting 22 flights between April and July due to higher fuel costs.
• Ascend Airways: Has cancelled all flights, with immediate effect.
• Cathay Pacific: The Hong Kong airline is cutting about 2% of scheduled passenger flights from mid-May to end of June. Its budget airline HK Express is cutting around 6% of flights. They are also raising fuel surcharges by 34% across routes from April 1, with a review every two weeks.
• Cebu Air: Philippines-based airline Cebu Air has said sharp fuel price rises are a key concern and will continue to review pricing and network strategy to mitigate the impact.
• China Eastern Airlines: Raising fuel surcharges on domestic flights from April 5, with 60 yuan for flights under 800km and 120 yuan for flights more than 800km.
• Delta Air Lines: Bosses are cutting capacity by about 3.5% and raising checked bag fees by $10 for first and second bags and $50 for the third. They are also pulling all planned capacity growth for the current quarter, forecasting profit below Wall Street expectations and delaying a full-year outlook update amid uncertainty.
• EasyJet: Executives have warned of a bigger half-year pre-tax loss of £540m to £560m, including £25m in extra fuel costs, signalling higher ticket prices towards the end of summer as fuel hedges expire.

EasyJet plane (Image: EasyJet)

• Frontier Airlines: The US firm is reviewing its full-year forecast as fuel prices rise significantly.
• Greater Bay Airlines: Raising fuel surcharges on most routes from April 1, keeping charges unchanged on mainland China and Japan routes. There is a surcharge between Hong Kong and the Philippines, which will more than double.
• Hong Kong Airlines: Raising fuel surcharges by up to 35% from March 12, with the biggest increases on flights between Hong Kong and the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal (to HK$384 from HK$284).
• British Airways (IAG): Does not plan to increase ticket prices immediately, having hedged much of its fuel for the short to medium term.
• IndiGo: They are introducing fuel charges on domestic and international flights from March 14, including 900 rupees for flights to the Middle East and 2300 rupees for flights to Europe. Industry bosses are lobbying the Indian government to cut fuel taxes.
• JetBlue Airways: Increasing fees for optional services such as checked baggage, with bag prices rising.
• Korean Air: Entering emergency management mode from April, planning phased measures based on oil price levels and boosting cost-efficiency across the company.
• Lufthansa: Grounding 27 planes serving its short-haul CityLine subsidiary earlier than planned, withdrawing four Airbus A340-600s at the end of summer, and reducing short- and medium-haul capacity by five aircraft in winter 2026/27.

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• Nigerian airlines: The industry body is warning that all flight operations will be suspended from April 20 unless fuel prices are reduced, and are accusing the fuel industry association of artificially raising prices.
• Pakistan International Airlines: Raising domestic fares by $20 and international fares by up to $100, citing higher fuel surcharges.

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• Qantas Airways: Delaying a planned A$150m share buyback and lifting its fuel bill estimate to A$3.1bn to A$3.3bn, up from A$2.5bn.
• SAS: The Scandinavian firm is cancelling 1000 flights in April after hundreds in March, and warning that even with higher fares, rising fuel prices will still hit the industry.
• Spring Airlines: Raising fuel surcharges on budget domestic flights in China from April 5, with details to follow.
• Southwest Airlines: Hiking checked baggage fees by $10 for the first and second bags, to $45 and $55 respectively, across American flights.
• TAP Air Portugal: Increasing prices to partially offset fuel price impacts.
• Thai Airways: Raising fares by 10% to 15%.
• SunExpress: Imposing a temporary €10 fuel surcharge per passenger on routes between Turkey and Europe for bookings made on or after April 1 for departures from May 1. Turkish Airlines have said they will not pay a 2025 dividend to preserve cash.
• T’Way Air: the South Korean airline are planning unpaid furloughs for some cabin crew in May and June as part of its response.
• United Airlines: Cutting unprofitable flights over the next two quarters, assuming oil prices will stay above $100 until the end of 2027. Raising fares without materially hurting bookings, and increasing first and second checked bag fees by $10 for travel in the US, Mexico, Canada and Latin America.

Any passengers flying from the UK have been urged to check their flights (Image: Scott Fillmer on Unsplash)

• Vietjet: Adjusting flight frequency on selected routes due to potential fuel shortages.
• Vietnam Airlines: They are cancelling 23 domestic flights per week from April after requesting government help to remove environmental tax on jet fuel.
• Virgin Atlantic: Adding fuel surcharges to fares but still expects difficulty returning to profitability this year.
• Virgin Australia: Anticipating A$30m to A$40m in extra jet fuel costs in H2 and a 1% capacity reduction in Q4; fares are being adjusted to reflect higher costs.
• WestJet: Adding a C$60 fuel surcharge to some bookings and combining flights as costs soar.