Lufthansa trims summer schedule by 20,000 flights to cut fuel costs amid Iran conflict

German flag carrier Lufthansa Group said Tuesday that it is cutting around 20,000 short-haul flights from its summer schedule through October as it seeks to curb fuel costs that have surged since the outbreak of the Iran conflict.

The airline group said the reductions would lower overall capacity by less than 1% in available seat kilometers (ASK) while saving more than 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel.

The cuts mainly affect unprofitable short-haul routes from Frankfurt and Munich, while the group plans to expand selected existing services in Zurich, Vienna and Brussels as part of a broader optimization across its six European hubs.

Lufthansa said the first round of short-term adjustments, covering operations through May 31, has already been implemented, with 120 daily flight cancellations introduced from Tuesday and affected passengers notified.

The company said at least three destinations were temporarily removed from the current schedule, including Bydgoszcz and Rzeszow in Poland and Stavanger in Norway.

It also said 10 connections would be consolidated through other group hubs, including services linked to Heringsdorf, Cork, Gdansk, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Sibiu, Stuttgart, Trondheim, Tivat and Wroclaw.

Lufthansa said the move is aimed at improving efficiency across its European network while preserving access to its broader global route system, particularly long-haul connections.

The group said revised medium-term route planning for the coming months will be published in late April or early May and will include further adjustments to the short-haul offering for the summer season.

Lufthansa also said its jet fuel supply is secured for the coming weeks and that it is using a combination of physical procurement and price hedging measures to manage the impact of higher fuel costs.