Nearly two months following the U.S.-Israeli strike that took down Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, most major airlines are being forced to cancel flights in response to the global oil crisis that broke out when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation.
Delta and United both trimmed their summer network to maximize the use of jet fuel and cut out unprofitable flights while international airlines such as Air France, KLM and Lufthansa have been doing the same; the latter also retired its regional airline CityLine a year earlier than initially anticipated “to reduce further losses at the loss-making airline.”
Irish national airline Aer Lingus has also cut around 500 both European and transatlantic flights, or roughly 3% of its summer network, initially slated to run in the coming weeks.
“Volatility in aviation fuel prices reflects an exceptional environment”: Air Transat latest to cancel flights
The latest airline to confirm widescale route cuts is Canadian vacation airline Air Transat. The third largest carrier in the country’s after flag carrier Air Canada and Calgary-based WestJet, Air Transat launched out of Montreal in 1986 as a holiday airline shuttling Canadian tourists to popular warm-weather destinations.
In 2026, Air Transat also flies to many cities in Europe and South America but will be cutting the frequency of many of these flights by 6% between May and October.
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“The recent volatility in aviation fuel prices reflects an exceptional environment affecting the entire sector,” CEO Annick Guerard said in a statement to national broadcaster CBC. “We are closely monitoring the situation, as cost pressures continue to be felt across the industry.”
The cancelations affect approximately 1,000 flights to European cities such as Marseille and Barcelona as well as a full cancelation of its Cuba service until October 2026 as the country grapples with a U.S. fuel embargo.
But the majority of the flight cuts so far come from suspension of the Cuban service.
Air Transat is a vacation airline based in Montreal.
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“A situation beyond our control”: Air Transat on flight cuts
Travelers who already booked travel on canceled routes will be contacted with refund or rebooking options on alternative ones; no non-Cuban flights have so far been phased out entirely but will run fewer times a week than initially scheduled.
Along with the canceled flights, Air Transat is also putting off the launch of new routes between Toronto and the Ghana capital of Accra and Montreal and Guadalajara in western Mexico initially scheduled for June to an unspecified time in the future.
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“We will continue to optimize our program based on demand, which remains strong,” Guerard said further. “Additional measures may be implemented depending on how the situation evolves beyond our control.”
With oil prices hovering at approximately $100 barrel per barrel for weeks, such price highs pose a significant problem for the aviation industry. The latest numbers from Statistics Canada show that Canadian airlines have already increased fare prices by approximately 5% last March while Air Canada and WestJet also raised fees for checking a bag same as U.S. competitors like American Airlines and JetBlue Airways.