Lufthansa Group have announced they are axing their CityLine subsidiary, citing rising fuel costs as a result of the ongoing Middle East conflict.

CityLine serves a range of short-haul international destinations and domestic German airports. All routes will be closed beginning 18 April as the CRJ aircraft that make up most of the CityLine fleet are relatively old and come with high operating costs.

Lufthansa say that kerosene prices are double what they were before the US-Israel attack on Iran. The situation at the airline has been compounded by labour disputes: pilots and flight attendants have gone on strike multiple times since February as they seek better pay and benefits. CityLine was already set to close by the end of 2026, with operations moving to City Airlines. But the sudden decision to axe services, effective immediately, is surprising.

As well as the end of the CityLine subsidiary, Lufthansa have announced other capacity cuts across their network to relieve price pressures. Six long-haul international aircraft will be removed from service from October 2026, while a further five aircraft will be held back from the 2026-27 winter short-haul schedule.

Till Streichert, Chief Financial Officer at Lufthansa Group, says:

The package for accelerated implementation of fleet and capacity measures is unavoidable in light of the sharply increased kerosene costs and geopolitical instability. The goal is to focus our short- and medium-haul platforms more clearly and make them more competitive.

In this regard, we had already identified the prospective removal of CityLine from our program as part of our strategic development for some time, independently of the current geopolitical crisis. The current crisis is now forcing us to implement this measure earlier. This is a painful step, particularly with regard to the colleagues at Lufthansa CityLine. It is therefore all the more important now to find continued employment opportunities within the Group,

Even before the current geopolitical situation forced their hand. Lufthansa were struggling financially. At the end of 2025, the group revealed plans to cut 4,000 administrative jobs by 2030 and supplement the workforce through automation.

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