Turbulence ahead: Lufthansa and Ryanair CEOs voice concern over rising fuel costs
April 2, 2026
German airline group Lufthansa and Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair are preparing contingency plans amid surging jet fuel prices.
The Lufthansa Group is considering grounding around 5% of its fleet in response to the economic shockwaves triggered by the Iran conflict, according to a report in Handelsblatt.
The airline group’s CEO, Carsten Spohr, has instructed internal teams to build a layered contingency, including the grounding of up to 40 aircraft.
The move comes amid a rapidly deteriorating operating environment due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and would be implemented across the group, which includes Eurowings, SWISS, Brussels Airlines, Austrian and ITA Airways, alongside Lufthansa. The group operates more than 800 aircraft.
The initial phase could see up to 20 aircraft grounded, representing a 2.5% reduction in the group’s available seat capacity. Spohr indicated that the airline is prepared to ground a further 20 aircraft if the situation continues to decline.
Lufthansa Group’s contingency plan amid rising fuel costs
Cited as a “contingency plan”, rising fuel costs were given as the primary reason behind the need to ground aircraft. Handelsblatt reported that although Lufthansa has hedged around 80% of its fuel requirements against price fluctuations, the increase in jet fuel costs is still expected to generate additional expenditure of €1.5 billion on the unhedged portion alone.
Spohr has also underlined that the fuel shortage is likely to drive up ticket prices, ultimately leading to reduced demand.
Ryanair is also feeling the strain of fuel shortages
Lufthansa is not alone in feeling the strain. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has also voiced his concerns about the impact of the jet fuel shortage on the UK’s aviation sector.
In an interview with Sky News, O’Leary warned of likely flight cancellations this summer, noting that the UK is more exposed to the crisis than other countries because it relies on fuel from the Middle East.
In an interview with Sky's @WilfredFrost, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has warned the war in the Middle East could disrupt jet fuel supplies across Europe later this spring.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 1, 2026
Iran war latest: https://t.co/Mnsy2SXXPA pic.twitter.com/2NRjlcfiAD
“If the war continues, we do run the risk of supply disruptions in May and June,” he said. “It’s impossible to know how long the war will continue. If the Strait of Hormuz reopens by the end of April, there is no risk to supply, but if the war continues, there is a reasonable risk that 10-25% of our supplies may be at risk through May and June.”
Rerouting summer schedules
Despite the anticipated disruption to flight schedules, both Ryanair and the Lufthansa Group recently announced expanded flight offerings for summer 2026.
Ryanair’s record summer schedule
The Irish low-cost carrier is launching a record summer 2026 schedule from its UK hubs with 194 routes operating from the UK capital. Five new routes are being launched from London Luton to Wroclaw, and from Stansted to Forli, Glasgow, Malmo and Parma. A further 50+ frequencies are being added to other existing routes, including Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga and Malta. The LCC is also adding an aircraft to its London Stansted base for the summer season.
O’Leary emphasised that “despite many UK regional airports being hammered by Rachel Reeves’ stupid decision to increase APD from 1 April, Ryanair is growing modestly in London.”
He described the government’s Air Passenger Duty (APD) hike as making UK air travel even less competitive versus countries like Sweden, Hungary and Slovakia and regional Italy, where governments are abolishing environmental taxes and being rewarded with rapid traffic, tourism and jobs growth.”
Lufthansa rethinks flight programme
At the end of March, Lufthansa said it was responding to the short-term shift and increase in demand in tourist and business air travel, adding two additional weekly flights from Frankfurt to Chennai in India and two weekly flights to Delhi, one additional flight to Hyderabad, and an additional weekly flight from Munich to Bangalore. SWISS has also added seven weekly flights to Delhi to its schedule.
With high demand for tourist destinations in Southern Europe and selected destinations in the far North, Lufthansa is planning to add around 540 additional flights in Europe from its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.
Austrian Airlines is adding another 700 flights from Vienna, while SWISS is adding over 100 flights from Zurich and Brussels Airlines is adding 170 flights from the Belgian capital.
The additional capacities are being created in response to adjustments to the group’s flight programme for the Middle East. The group, however, warned that, given the geopolitical environment, the situation remains volatile and that sharp increases in ticket prices are to be expected due to higher fuel costs, which could impact demand. The airline group also noted that currently, demand for air travel remains high despite ticket price increases already being implemented.
Featured image: Lufthansa
