*Please note that this is a press release for the Danish press and the content is accordingly
The German airline Lufthansa is cancelling up to 20,000 short-haul flights over the summer.
The cancellations are due to the war in Iran and the resulting fluctuations in fuel prices – but that does not change the fact that passengers are still entitled to a refund and, in some cases, compensation, explains a legal expert.
The war in Iran has led to a significant rise in fuel prices. This has prompted Lufthansa to cancel up to 20,000 European short-haul flights spread over a longer period leading up to October 2026.
Other airlines are also reporting cancellations due to rising fuel prices, with companies such as SAS, for example, cancelling 1,000 departures in April, says DR News.
However, rising fuel prices do not exempt airlines from liability or alter passengers’ rights, according to Benedikte Bolvig Lund, a lawyer at Refundmore, which helps to safeguard air passengers’ rights.
“Fluctuations in fuel prices happen all the time, and airlines purchase fuel well in advance. The prices at which they purchase fuel, and whether they secure favourable supply agreements that account for price changes, are, in my view, not an exceptional circumstance that exempts them from the obligation to pay compensation for cancellations, but rather a commercial consideration,” she explains.
War can be a valid excuse
In some cases, airlines can avoid compensating passengers if the cancellation is due to so-called “extraordinary circumstances”, i.e. exceptional circumstances as defined by the rules in EU Regulation 261/2004.
Here, airlines can cite geopolitical unrest and war, but only in specific cases.
“War is mentioned in the regulation as an example of an extraordinary circumstance. But an airline cannot cite war somewhere in the world as the cause of all their problems,” says Benedikte Bolvig Lund.
Previous cases, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, have shown that airlines cannot automatically reject claims by referring to a general crisis.
“At some point, something that was exceptional becomes part of normal business practice,” says Benedikte Bolvig Lund.
Passengers’ rights in the event of cancelled flights
In addition to compensation, airlines must always offer passengers the choice between a refund of the ticket price, rebooking at the earliest opportunity, or rebooking at a later date by agreement with the passenger, explains Benedikte Bolvig Lund.
“If the airline does not offer these options, and the passenger is therefore forced to buy a new flight ticket themselves, the airline must reimburse the passenger’s expenses.”
Passengers should be aware that the right to a refund or rebooking always applies, regardless of the reason and notice period. The right to compensation, however, depends on when you were notified of the cancellation.
“It is important for air passengers to know that if the cancellation occurs more than 14 days before departure, there is no right to compensation, regardless of whether it was an extraordinary circumstance or not,” she explains.
What you should do if your flight is cancelled
If you, as a passenger, are affected by a cancellation, there is one piece of advice that stands out:
“Make sure you keep records of your expenses, your correspondence with the airline and any agreements you make with them,” says Benedikte Bolvig Lund.
This includes, among other things:
Receipts for new tickets or expenses
Written correspondence with the airline
Confirmations of cancellation and rebooking
Passengers should also be aware that much of the communication and administration regarding their flights takes place via various airlines’ apps, which are constantly being updated. As a result, passengers may ‘suddenly’ no longer be able to view the documentation for their flights, which was otherwise available on the day of travel.
“Passengers would therefore be well advised to secure their documentation by taking screenshots of it in the relevant airline’s app, provided they use the airline’s app to manage their flights,” she concludes.
Lufthansa’s 20,000 cancellations come in the wake of the airline’s previous staff strikes, which had already caused delays, cancellations and associated frustration among passengers.
Passengers who have experienced cancellations, or who are unsure about their rights to compensation or reimbursement of their expenses, can search for their flights using Refundmore's calculator at refundmore.com.