Lufthansa faces nearly $2 billion in extra fuel costs amid Middle East conflict

A Lufthansa passenger plane lands at Frankfurt Airport The plane flies over the Messeturm. The airline presents its quarterly figures on Wednesday. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Germany's largest airline, Lufthansa reported taking on 1.7 billion euros (nearly $2 billion) in additional fuel costs as the Middle East conflict poses "enormous challenges." In its first-quarter earnings published Wednesday, the airline said it had hedged 80% of its jet fuel, it expects to take on additional costs of 1.7 billion euros in 2026, which it plans to offset via cost-saving measures and increased revenue from ticket sales. Lufthansa saw its first-quarter adjusted EBIT increase to 612 million euros, while revenue rose to 8.7 billion euros ($10.2 billion), up 8% from 8.1 billion euros last year. "In the first quarter, we significantly improved on the previous year's financial results," Lufthansa's CEO Carsten Spohr said. "But the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, combined with rising fuel costs and operational constraints, poses enormous challenges for the world as a whole, for global air travel, and for our company as well." Europe is facing a jet fuel crunch because of the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The International Energy Agency's chief, Fatih Birol , warned last month that the continent is weeks away from running out of supply. …