Wider War Effects Lead to Cancellation of 13,000 Global Flights

The jet fuel crisis is beginning to impact the global aviation industry. Several international airlines are cutting flight schedules and seat capacities due to the surge in avtur prices over the past few months.

Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that global airlines have cancelled around 13,000 scheduled flights for May 2026.

In the last two weeks of April, airlines also cut nearly two million flight seats. Cirium notes that the total global flight seats for May have dropped from 132 million to 130 million seats.

The flight cancellations are expected to affect public travel that has already booked tickets for the mid-year holiday period in the UK and several European countries.

Some European airlines that have cancelled flights include Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways, and KLM. The two million seats cut are also said not to yet reflect the potential for larger flight disruptions this summer.

Avtur Prices Rise Due to Iran Conflict

As is known, airlines are also reducing capacity by using smaller aircraft to save fuel.

Lufthansa is one of the airlines most affected by the jet fuel crisis. The German carrier has cut around 20,000 short-haul routes from their summer flight schedule.

Since the Iran conflict began in February, jet fuel prices have reportedly more than doubled. This situation was triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which affects about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Several global airlines are now raising ticket prices on popular routes, cancelling flights on low-demand routes, and operating smaller aircraft to save fuel.

In the UK, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced a temporary suspension of airport slot usage rules.

“The rules requiring airlines to use flight slots at UK airports or those slots will be given to competitors are temporarily suspended,” she said, as quoted from Yahoo News, Thursday, 7 May 2026.

This policy allows airlines like British Airways to reduce the number of flights without penalties. Passengers on popular routes may also be transferred to other flight schedules if their flights are affected by airline schedule adjustments.