Passengers had already testified about the cancellation of their flight. Transavia, the low-cost airline of the Air France-KLM group, will adjust its flight program planned for May and June to optimize its costs in the face of the surge in kerosene prices linked to the war in the Middle East, a spokesperson confirmed on Sunday, confirming information from RMC.
“Due to the current geopolitical context in the Middle East and its repercussions on the price of aviation fuel, Transavia France is adapting its flight program and is forced to cancel several flights planned for May and June 2026,” the Transavia company, which operates in the medium-haul segment, said in a press release.
The cancellations concern “less than 2% of the flight program over the May-June period,” said a spokesperson.
Transavia specifies that “customers affected by a cancellation are informed individually by SMS and e-mail”. They will then be able to “benefit, depending on their choice, from a free postponement, a credit or a full refund of their ticket”. And “for the majority of canceled flights, a postponement solution within 24 hours is offered,” adds the company.
Strait of Hormuz blocks supply
Europe usually imports half of its jet fuel from the Gulf countries. However, since the start of the war between the United States and Iran at the end of February, the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20% of world hydrocarbon production normally passes, has been blocked by Tehran.
In Brussels, European Commissioner Dan Jorgensen estimated that the EU was “very quickly approaching” a potential supply crisis, with the risk of a summer marked by “more expensive plane tickets and cancellations”.
Like other companies, Transavia has already applied price increases in this direction, of around 10 euros on average per round trip.
The global professional organization of airlines Iata called on April 17 the various regulatory authorities to coordinate and be transparent in the event that “rationing” of kerosene proves necessary, particularly in Europe. For its part, France is not currently seeing any “difficulty” in supplying kerosene to airlines but it could release part of its strategic stocks in the event of “volume problems”, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon indicated on April 19.