Flight cancellations in the UK have begun, as airlines around the world have been hit by rising jet fuel prices amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Aurigny of Guernsey have cancelled a number of flights from mid-April to early June, with the Channel Islands airline describing the cuts as “proactive measures to address the impact of global instability”.
Flights between Guernsey and London City airport have been reduced, with affected passengers offered seats on London Gatwick services, while services from Exeter and Bristol have been combined.
Aurigny has claimed that the demand for flights is falling, and that the move to cancel some departures and combine others is aimed at “preserving the number of weekly frequencies whilst reducing excess seats”.
Most of the airline's flights to and from Paris have also been deferred until June, while they will also be adding a temporary fuel adjustment surcharge of £2 on all bookings made from March 20 onwards.
Customers affected by the changes are being contacted directly by the airline.
Aurigny’s chief commercial officer Philip Saunders, said: “While a small island community, we are not immune from the realities presented by the global travel ecosystem.
“Current global events are impacting consumer confidence and changing travel behaviours. Furthermore, significant increases in global oil prices are now filtering through to aviation.
“Unfortunately, we have to pass on some of the resulting costs to customers to ensure sustainable air services to and from Guernsey.”
Skybus has also cancelled a number of future flights, with services between Newquay and London Gatwick cancelled starting from April 2, due to "circumstances beyond our control".
Customers expecting to travel in April and May are being contacted by the airline, and will receive a full refund, the airline said.
Skybus managing director Jonathan Hinkles said that the "huge rise in the cost of fuel following the war in the Gulf" and a “significant drop” in passenger bookings were behind the cancellations.
Hinkles said: "At a time of great economic uncertainty and steps being taken to conserve energy worldwide, it is neither environmentally nor economically sound for us to continue flying with vastly reduced passenger numbers."
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has warned that the airline may need to cancel 10% of its flights in the early summer if the conflict continues to impact jet fuel prices.
O’Leary told ITV News on Thursday: “We're all facing an unknown scenario. And we are certainly looking at maybe having to cancel 5%, 10% of flights through May, June and July.”
Fuel and energy prices have soared around the world since the conflict began, as the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil travels, remains largely shut.
Jet fuel cost $742 a metric tonne a year ago but has now topped $1,710, while Brent crude oil reached as high as $116 a barrel on Monday, exceeding $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022.
Many other countries have seen flight cancellations due to the war, with Air New Zealand, cutting 1,100 flights through early May, and Scandinavian group SAS axing 1,000 next month.
Vietnam Airlines have already cut flights on domestic and international routes, and said last week it would need to cut flights by 10 to 20% per month during the next quarter if jet fuel prices continue to rise.
United Airlines became the first major US airline to cancel flights due to fuel costs earlier this month, and the airline’s chief executive Scott Kirby told Bloomberg that passenger flight costs could rise by 20% if prices remain high.
Kirby said: “If oil prices stayed where they are today, that’s $11bn of expense for us, and that would require prices to be up 20% to break even, to cover that cost.
“Airfares are up 15-20% in the last few weeks. There will be less demand and fewer people travelling as prices go up.”
According to aviation analytics company Cirium, almost 7% of all globally scheduled flights were cancelled on Monday, compared to 4.7% on the same day last year.
