Air France-KLM puts 2026 fuel bill at $8.9 billion amid Middle East conflict

Air France-KLM, the Franco-Dutch airline group, published its second-quarter results at the end of July 2026. It said its fuel bill for the full year would reach about $8.9 billion, roughly $2 billion more than in 2025.

The group tied the increase to higher fuel prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East, which weighed on its profitability in the first half of the year. The new estimate was lower than the $9.3 billion it had indicated a quarter earlier. The company had hedged, or locked in prices for, about two-thirds of its expected 2026 consumption, and said it would not hedge further for this year.

To limit the damage, the group cut its capacity growth forecast for 2026 to between 2% and 3%. It also said it had recovered a large share of the extra fuel cost through higher revenues, meaning higher fares. The figures were an early sign that costlier jet fuel was being passed on to passengers, a trend later reflected in record airfare increases in France.