Jet fuel shock from Iran war worsens crisis for global airlines

InternationalJet fuel shock from Iran war worsens crisis for global airlinesBy Reuters -Apr 14, 2026Air travel’s worst crisis in years lurched deeper on Tuesday as Qantas Airways warned ‌of spiralling costs, Lufthansa said it may have to ground planes and Virgin Atlantic flagged a looming supply crunch, with the Iran conflict squeezing fuel supplies. The war has upended routes between Asia and Europe that relied on Gulf hubs, while a doubling of jet fuel prices and tightening of supplies are hitting airlines hard. Since the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, carriers have hiked air fares, introduced ​fuel surcharges and cut routes. Underscoring efforts to preserve cash, Qantas has delayed a planned share buyback, citing higher and volatile fuel prices, one of the first ​major carriers to stall shareholder returns. Meanwhile, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr warned that jet fuel supplies will remain constrained, driving up costs. “Kerosene will remain ⁠in short supply and therefore more expensive for the rest of the year,” Spohr told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Lufthansa has not yet grounded planes due to shortages ​but this “may be unavoidable” as kerosene availability is already critical at some airports, particularly in Asia, he said. In South Korea, low-cost carrier T’way Air plans to furlough some cabin crew without ​pay in May and June, a local report said, among the first carriers to reduce staffing. A two-week ceasefire has provided little relief with the Strait of Hormuz still shut, removing roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies from the market and refineries will take time to repair damage inflicted on them. “Despite the pause in the conflict we remain concerned about jet kerosene supply and price ​increase,” UBS analyst Jarrod Castle said in a note on Tuesday, adding that December jet kerosene futures prices are still up more than 50% year-on-year. Fuel, typically airlines’ second-largest cost afte...