Overview
- Airlines have removed about 13,000 flights for May, equal to roughly two million seats worldwide, with Cirium data showing only about 120 UK departures cut so far.
- UK authorities issued a joint statement saying carriers are not seeing a current shortage, and they introduced temporary slot relief so airlines can combine passengers onto fewer flights to save fuel.
- Lufthansa has axed 20,000 short‑haul services through October, and Cirium reports the steepest service reductions at Istanbul and Munich as carriers pare routes and swap to smaller jets.
- Goldman Sachs and other analysts warn Europe’s jet fuel stocks could dip below the IEA’s critical threshold in June if Strait of Hormuz disruptions continue, raising the risk of more schedule cuts and higher fares.
- Travel bodies including ABTA advise people to keep checking with airlines and note legal rights to refunds or rebooking, as the Hormuz chokepoint has choked off a large share of Europe’s fuel and pushed prices sharply higher.