Qantas and Jetstar have announced an extension of their domestic flight reductions by three months as the ongoing fuel crisis, triggered by the conflict in Iran, continues to disrupt the travel industry. The national carrier confirmed it would prolong its 5 per cent cut in domestic capacity until September.
Initially, the airline had planned to implement these reductions starting in May, with an original end date in June. The cuts will primarily affect Qantas and Jetstar services on major capital city routes, the airline stated.
International Travel Cuts Extended
In addition to domestic adjustments, international travel cuts will also be extended. Qantas and Jetstar will reduce flights to New Zealand. The airline intends to redeploy some of its international fleet to accommodate a capacity decline of 2 percentage points in the first quarter of 2027.
“The Qantas Group continues to take action to mitigate the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, including sustained high fuel costs, and respond to continued strong demand for travel to Europe,” the company said. “Given fuel prices remain significantly elevated, the group has extended previously announced schedule changes across its international and domestic network between July and September.”
Fuel Costs and Market Outlook
The airline released a 2026 market outlook update earlier in April, noting that jet fuel prices have more than doubled since the first outlook was released earlier this year and remain “highly volatile.” Qantas stated in the outlook that it had taken “action to mitigate the impact of the conflict in the Middle East,” which included international network changes, capacity adjustments, and fare increases.
The airline’s fuel bill is forecast to increase by between $600 million and $800 million in the first half of this year. “Qantas will continue to redeploy some aircraft to operate more flights between Australia and Europe, providing Qantas customers already booked to travel on partner airlines with an alternative option should they wish to change,” the airline added.
Additional Flight Extensions
Additional Qantas flights from Perth to Rome have also been extended by another three months, until the end of October. Flights to Paris will revert to three return flights per week as planned in August and will continue to operate from Sydney via Singapore. These changes are expected to provide an additional 2,000 seats to and from Europe each week.
