The Franco-Dutch group Air France - KLM expects the rise in jet fuel prices against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war against Iran to increase its fuel costs in 2026 by 2.1 billion euros, to 8.2 billion euros, the NRC newspaper reports, citing data from the airline.
According to this information, fuel costs could reach 970 million euros in the second quarter alone. KLM Chief Financial Officer Bas Browns admitted that the company is not able to fully pass on the increased costs to passengers. "High fuel prices due to geopolitical uncertainty cannot be fully passed on to customers. This is putting pressure on the profitability of our operations", the NRC quoted him as saying.
In the first quarter, the effects of rising kerosene prices have not yet been fully reflected in the financial results. Air France-KLM's revenue increased by 4% to EUR 7.48 billion, while the group's loss amounted to EUR 252 million. KLM, with quarterly revenue of EUR 3 billion, recorded a negative operating result of EUR 114 million, which is however EUR 84 million better than the previous year.
On April 16, KLM said it would cancel 160 flights departing and arriving at Schiphol Airport next month amid rising jet fuel prices. The carrier noted that we are talking about “less than 1% of European flights“. It later became known that this was specifically about the Amsterdam - London and Amsterdam - Düsseldorf directions.