Air france plane
PHOTO : ARTUR WIDEK/NUR PHOTO VIA AFP

European air carrier duo Air France-KLM have increased their prices for the year due to fuel shortages amid the Iran War that continues to drag on.

Also, an energy organisation delivered a warning that Europe could run out of fuel in a couple of weeks.

An 'Uncertain' Environment

Air France-KLM is removing some flights for the coming months with the war in Iran dragging on.

The cut comes as Air France-KLM posted first-quarter revenue of 7.48 billion euros ($8.73 billion), up 4.4% on-year and in-line with analysts' expectations.

It reported an operating loss of 27 million euros, with an operating margin of -0.4%, versus consensus estimates of an operating loss of 351 million euros provided by the company.

'For the first quarter, passengers rose 2.3% on-year to 22.3 million, while capacity and traffic increased by 4% and 4.4% respectively,' Air France-KLM said. 'Its load factor, a measure of how full its aircraft fly—rose to 86.3% from 86%,' according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Air France-KLM chief executive, Ben Smith, said in a statement that fuel price increases were 'expected to weigh on the coming quarters,' after the company reported a smaller loss than expected for the first three months of the year. Smith added that the operating environment remained 'uncertain.'

Air France-KLM operates a 'rolling fuel hedging policy,' which will save the airline £1,103,060,064.15. Despite that, the airline's total fuel bill for 2026 is expected to be £6,837,377,259.87, an increase of £1,765,027,045.2 compared with 2025. It expects to spend £808,879,110.49more on fuel in the April-June quarter.

Only a Few Weeks Left of Fuel

The executive director of the International Energy Agency delivered a warning about how much fuel is left in Europe.

Europe had 'maybe six weeks or so of jet fuel left,' Fatih Birol said, as reported by the Associated Press.

'In the past, there was a group called Dire Straits,' said Birol. 'It's a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world.'

'The impact will be higher petrol prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices,' Birol told AP, with some parts of the world 'hit worse than the others.'

Airports and airlines typically hold about six weeks' worth of fuel in normal conditions, according to industry sources. However, the Iran war has lasted long enough that any additional reserves are now being depleted, while alternative suppliers lack the capacity to replace fuel normally shipped through the Gulf.

British low-cost carrier EasyJet said that they were not concerned about fuel shortages. Kenton Jarvis, the easyJet chief executive, said: 'We have visibility to the middle of May and we have no concerns.'

Air France-KLM Cuts Flights

KLM, part of the Air France-KLM group, said on Thursday it would cut 160 flights in the coming month because of high kerosene jet fuel prices. Although less than 1% of its schedule, the cancellations underline the financial pressures on the airline industry.

The Dutch airline said, 'This concerns a limited number of flights within Europe that, due to rising kerosene costs, are currently no longer financially viable to operate. There is no kerosene shortage,' according to The Guardian.

KLM expects a busy May holiday period and is making sure passengers can travel to their holiday destinations as planned.

Writer's pick