Europe's first major airline cancels hundreds of flights due to fuel price spike
Europe's first major airline cancels hundreds of flights due to fuel price hikes / Photo: unsplash.com / Rasmus Lauridsen
Scandinavian airline SAS has announced that it will cut about 1,000 flights in March-April amid a sharp rise in jet fuel prices. SAS emphasized that this is only a small fraction of the more than 5,000 flights the company operates weekly, Swedish business daily Dagens Industri reported.
Details
The move was the first among major European airlines to suspend some operations - in addition to canceling flights to and from the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) notes. SAS said the cuts affected mainly short-haul routes within the Scandinavian region and were aimed at airports where the company operates many flights a day to minimize the impact on its flight network.
The airline also noted that the jump in fuel prices is putting pressure on all European aviation, forcing airlines to revise plans, the Wall Street Journal quoted the company's statement as saying. Up to a third of aviation fuel comes to Europe from the Gulf, Dagens Industri points out.
In 2024, SAS reported serving more than 25 million passengers annually.
Context
Earlier, on March 11, SAS, along with other airlines, including American Delta and Australian Qantas, announced a sharp increase in ticket prices due to expensive aviation fuel. Because of the same Air New Zealand last week announced a 5% reduction in the number of flights until the beginning of Ma - this will affect about 44,000 passengers, notes WSJ.
Jet fuel prices have risen more than 50 percent since the conflict in the Middle East began and are hovering between $150 and $200 a barrel, Reuters wrote.
However, U.S. airlines, including Delta and American Airlines, noted on March 17 that despite high fuel prices, there remains strong demand among their customers for travel in the first quarter of 2026. This week, they raised their revenue forecast for the first quarter of 2026, they said in documents they filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
