Airline profits set to halve this year as fuel costs jump by $100 billion: IATA

Source: CNBC

Published Mon, Jun 8 2026 6:05 AM EDT Updated 3 Hours Ago


The International Air Transport Association warned that global airlines can expect to see profits plunge by half in 2026 as the rising cost of jet fuel continues to squeeze the industry.

Oil prices jumped and jet fuel costs soared after the U.S.-Iran conflict began on Feb. 28, noted IATA’s outgoing director general Willie Walsh, adding to the challenges he said airlines have faced in recent years from the Covid-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine. “As a result, we expect average jet fuel prices to be 70% higher year-on-year,” Walsh said in a report on the State of the Global Air Transport Industry published Sunday. “That will add $100 billion to our collective fuel bill this year.”

Walsh noted that while travel demand remains resilient, airlines are raising fares to cope, but he said growth will inevitably be slower. “Considering all this, we expect profitability to halve from 2025,” Walsh added. “Net profits will fall from $45 billion to $23 billion in 2026, and net margins from 4.2% to 2.0%.”

Airlines whose balance sheets haven’t recovered from Covid-19 and those operating in the Gulf will be most affected, according to Walsh.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/08/iata-airline-profitability-halve-jet-fuel-costs-jump-100b.html