Middle East Crisis Severely Impacts Austrian Airlines' Financial Performance

The crisis in the Middle East has significantly worsened the financial performance of Austrian Airlines, with the carrier stating on Tuesday (4/8) that its operating losses more than doubled in the first half of this year. “The conflict related to Iran has had a major impact on us due to a sharp surge in jet fuel costs and the necessity to cancel several routes. Ticket price increases were only able to partially offset the financial impact up to June,” said Austrian Airlines CEO Annette Mann. The statement noted that the airline’s operating losses increased by 50 million euros (Rp1 trillion) to a total of 93 million euros (Rp1.9 trillion) in the first half of 2026 due to the Middle East crisis. Fuel costs rose by more than 60 million euros (Rp1.2 trillion) compared to the previous year, despite hedging strategies being in place. Meanwhile, forced flight cancellations to Amman, Erbil, Tel Aviv, and Tehran caused additional losses amounting to tens of millions of euros, the airline said. Mann added that the airline has taken a number of internal measures to minimise the short-term economic impact as much as possible, while still maintaining long-term investment plans. The airline announced it will discontinue flights between Vienna and Graz—the capital of the state of Styria and Austria’s second-largest city—starting from the winter schedule, following years of weak financial performance. Flights to Tbilisi (Georgia), Keflavik (Iceland), and Porto (Portugal) will be suspended, while several overnight stays for aircraft and crew in Klagenfurt, Copenhagen, Warsaw, and Krakow will be cancelled. Despite the difficult situation, the airline still expects to close the year with a positive financial result thanks to efficiency improvements and the passing on of some cost increases into ticket prices. Austrian Airlines is part of the Germany-based Lufthansa Group, which in April decided to cut 20,000 short-haul flights through October as a measure to cope with high aviation fuel costs.