Airlines have significantly increased flight cancellations for May, new figures reveal, amid soaring jet fuel prices and fears of shortages.
Aviation analytics firm Cirium reported 296 departures from UK airports axed this month as of Tuesday, 0.75 per cent of the total. This is up from 120 cancellations six days ago.
Figures for peak summer months show week-on-week schedule reductions remain limited. Outbound flights for June are 48 fewer than a week ago, after 0.2 per cent of services were cancelled. July’s week-on-week reduction stands at 31, with August seeing a mere four fewer flights.
Airlines avoid compensation liability by cancelling flights with at least two weeks’ notice, enabling them to delay summer decisions and bypass payouts. This comes as jet fuel prices have more than doubled since the start of the Middle East conflict, with Iran maintaining control over tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting several airlines to adjust schedules.
In Europe, Lufthansa’s airline group announced in April it would cancel 20,000 flights over the following six months to save fuel.
KLM and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) have also been affected.
Last week, British Airways’ parent company IAG warned its profits will be hit as it expects to spend about two billion euros (£1.72 billion) more than planned on fuel this year.
Chief executive Luis Gallego said IAG does not believe there will be “any interruption for the summer” in terms of jet fuel supplies.
Earlier this month, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said summer holiday plans will not face major disruption because of shortages.
She revealed that more fuel has been imported from America, and UK refineries have upped their production.
The Government has also introduced a temporary rule change allowing airlines to group passengers from different flights together on to fewer planes to save fuel.
