Global airlines hike fares, cut routes as fuel costs balloon
The Straits Times
The US-Israeli war against Iran, now in its third week, has thrown global aviation into turmoil. Read more at straitstimes.com.
NEW YORK - Global airlines sounded the alarm on March 17 over soaring jet fuel prices triggered by the US-Israeli war against Iran, warning of hundreds of millions of extra costs, higher fares and cuts to some routes.
Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian said the dramatic run-up in jet fuel prices had increased the airline’s costs by as much as US$400 million (S$500 billion) in March alone.
The industry is moving quickly to pass on higher expenses through fare hikes, he told a J.P. Morgan industrials conference.
American Airlines said it expects a US$400 million increase in first-quarter expenses due to fuel costs.
Among the first to act, Scandinavia’s biggest airline SAS AB said it is cutting a limited number of flights because of the “sharp and sudden increase” in fuel prices.
“The entire European aviation system is now feeling the pressure from a sudden fuel shock,” it said in an email.
ANKARA, March 17 - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reiterated that Turkey is ready to host the next round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, during a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, Turkey's foreign ministry said. Read more at straitstimes.com.
BERLIN, March 17 - More than 36,000 Palestinians in the West Bank were forcibly displaced over a year by Israeli settlement expansion and associated violence, the U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Hungary was blocking a loan to Ukraine over the pipeline outage, which was caused by a Russian attack. Read more at straitstimes.com.
SARAJEVO, March 17 - Slovenia's prime minister on Tuesday accused \"foreign services\" of interfering in Sunday's election after a report alleged officials from Israeli private spy firm Black Cube visited the country in December and met the main opposition contender. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Trump cited the Iran war for the delay, a reason analysts said Beijing can accept publicly, even if scepticism remains. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Mr Kent said in a statement on X that Iran posed no imminent threat to the US. Read more at straitstimes.com.
BRUSSELS, March 17 - A Brussels court on Tuesday ordered a former high-profile Belgian diplomat to stand trial over the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of Congo, in a final attempt to shed light on the still murky circumstances surrounding his murder. Read more at straitstimes.com.
AMSTERDAM, March 17 - The Netherlands is investigating whether Iran was involved in the attack on a Rotterdam synagogue on Friday, Justice Minister David van Weel has said, adding that the suspects apprehended for the attack had most likely been recruited. Read more at straitstimes.com.
MOSCOW, March 17 - Russia said it had unwavering solidarity with Cuba on Tuesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected to have the honour of \"taking Cuba\" and that \"I can do anything I want\" with the Communist-run island republic. Read more at straitstimes.com.
WASHINGTON, March 17 - The head of the National Counterterrorism Center resigned on Tuesday, becoming the first and most senior member of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to resign over the war in Iran, saying Tehran posed no imminent threat to the United States. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Meningitis is an infection affecting the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Read more at straitstimes.com.
The US-Israeli war against Iran cut off critical nitrogen fertiliser supplies to the world's farmers. Read more at straitstimes.com.
BRUSSELS, March 17 - European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas pushed back on Tuesday against a call by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever to normalise relations with Moscow and regain access to cheap Russian energy. Read more at straitstimes.com.