Lufthansa Cuts 20,000 Short-Haul Flights to Save on Fuel Costs

Istanbul (ANTARA) - Germany’s national airline, Lufthansa Group, announced on Tuesday (21/4) that it will cut around 20,000 short-haul flights from its summer schedule until October to suppress soaring fuel costs since the outbreak of the Iran conflict.

The airline group stated that the reduction will lower overall capacity by less than one percent in available seat kilometres (ASK) while saving more than 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel.

The cuts primarily affect unprofitable short-haul routes from Frankfurt and Munich, while the group plans to expand existing services in Zurich, Vienna, and Brussels as part of a broader optimisation across its six European hubs.

Lufthansa said the first round of short-term adjustments, covering operations until 31 May, has been implemented, with 120 daily flight cancellations enforced starting Tuesday and affected passengers notified.

The company stated that at least three destinations will be temporarily removed from the current schedule, including Bydgoszcz and Rzeszow in Poland and Stavanger in Norway.

Lufthansa also indicated that 10 connections will be consolidated through other group hubs, including services to Heringsdorf, Cork, Gdansk, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Sibiu, Stuttgart, Trondheim, Tivat, and Wroclaw.

Lufthansa said the measures aim to improve efficiency across its European network while maintaining access to a broader global route system, particularly long-haul connections.

The group stated that revised medium-term route planning for the coming months will be published at the end of April or early May and will include further adjustments to short-haul flight offerings for the summer.

Lufthansa also said its jet fuel supply is secured for the coming weeks and that it is using a combination of physical procurement and price hedging measures to manage the impact of rising fuel costs.