British Airways owner faces £472m fuel bill surge and £25m air traffic chaos costs

International Airlines Group reported a 30.4% jump in jet fuel costs and losses from a September air traffic control outage.

By SafarSamachar Desk6 Nov 2026, 5:18 pm IST

Illustration

Illustration: SafarSamachar Pix Desk, created with AI assistance. Not a photograph of the event.

Key facts at a glance

1IAG reported a 30.4% increase in jet fuel costs, adding €570m (£471.9m) to its quarterly expenses
2An air traffic control incident on September 8 cost IAG between €25m and €30m (£20.5m to £24.6m)
3Over 500 flights and 85,000 customers were affected by the incident
4IAG's pre-tax profits fell 12.9% to €1.63bn (£1.33bn) in the third quarter
5The Cyber Monitoring Centre estimated the outage cost the UK economy £33m

International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, has reported a significant financial impact from rising fuel prices and a major air traffic control outage. The September 8 incident disrupted 500 flights and affected 85,000 customers, costing IAG between €25m and €30m (£20.5m to £24.6m) in the third quarter.

The airline group also faced a 30.4% increase in jet fuel costs, adding €570m (£471.9m) to its expenses for the quarter. This has led to a 12.9% drop in pre-tax profits to €1.63bn (£1.33bn).

IAG expects full-year fuel costs to reach €8.9bn (£7.28bn), despite efforts to manage fuel prices in advance. The company is working to recover most of the increased fuel costs through higher fares, but it has not disclosed the extent of fare increases.

Bomb threats triggered flight diversions and emergency inspections across Europe this week. The Cyber Monitoring Centre estimated that the September outage cost the UK economy £33m.

More than 2,000 flights were cancelled across the sector during the disruption. IAG has also dealt with ongoing disruptions from bomb threats, which have caused flight diversions and emergency inspections across Europe.

What this means for travellers

Travellers flying with British Airways or other IAG airlines should expect potential fare increases and possible disruptions due to ongoing fuel costs and security threats. The airline is working to pass on higher fuel expenses to passengers but has not provided details on how much fares may rise in the coming months.

Sources

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