The CEO of Lufthansa, Carsten Spohr, has warned that several airports are already experiencing jet fuel shortages, as industry analysts caution that as many as 85,000 flights could be cancelled in a single month if the crisis is not resolved before the World Cup.
The fuel crunch has already claimed a high-profile victim in Nigerian music star Davido, who missed a scheduled performance after being unable to source fuel for his jet.
Spohr revealed that one of Lufthansa’s aircraft was left unable to refuel after landing in Cape Town last week, and had to divert roughly 900 miles to Namibia to fill up before continuing its journey.
He cautioned that while the situation has not yet reached a critical breaking point, the airline is actively preparing contingency plans.
Geopolitical analyst Francois-Joseph Schichan of Flint Global flagged the potential knock-on effects for World Cup fans, noting that while transatlantic routes remain among the most commercially valuable for airlines — and therefore less likely to be axed — the surrounding uncertainty may still deter some supporters from booking trips to the United States, Mexico, or Canada.
Aviation data firm Cirium confirmed that airlines have already trimmed two million seats from May schedules over the past fortnight. Travel consultant Paul Charles of The PC Agency warned the situation could worsen significantly in June, with up to 10 percent of flights — approximately 85,000 — potentially grounded if fuel supplies remain tight. He noted that airlines are opting to cancel early rather than disrupt passengers at short notice, and attributed much of the supply squeeze to the ongoing conflict involving Iran. Recent changes to UK slot rules, he added, give airlines more freedom to cancel without risking the loss of their airport slots.
Charles stressed that the scale of disruption will vary by market, but said carriers are already preparing for a worst-case scenario involving a prolonged fuel shortage. The concern has reached the highest levels of the British government, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer advising citizens to reconsider their holiday destinations this year.
