Lufthansa Shuts CityLine Early as Fuel Pain Forces More Cuts

Lufthansa Group said that it will permanently remove Lufthansa CityLine’s 27 operational aircraft from its flight program starting April 18, ending the regional carrier’s role much faster than expected.

The company said the move was part of an accelerated strategy response to sharply higher kerosene prices and added pressure from labor disputes. Lufthansa also announced more fleet and capacity cuts later this year.

CityLine has long operated short domestic and European flights that feed passengers into Lufthansa’s hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.

Fuel prices pushed the timing

Lufthansa said kerosene prices have more than doubled since before the Iran war. The group added that around 80 percent of its fuel needs are hedged, but the remaining 20 percent must still be bought at current market prices.

Lufthansa expects the new package to reduce that especially expensive unhedged fuel exposure by around 10 percent.

CityLine was especially exposed because Lufthansa said its Canadair CRJ aircraft are older, more costly to operate, and nearing the end of their technical life. The group also made clear that CityLine’s removal had already been identified as a possible strategic step before the current crisis.

Lufthansa had already been shifting regional flying

In its 2025 annual report, Lufthansa said City Airlines had expanded operations and was becoming more important in reshaping European traffic to and from Frankfurt and Munich.

CityLine was already under pressure financially. Lufthansa’s annual report said Lufthansa Cityline GmbH reported a loss of €97 million ($114.3 million) in 2025, compared with EUR 55 million (US$64.8 million) a year earlier. The same report also pointed to labor risks at the airline.

Strikes added to the pressure

Labor unrest made the situation harder. Lufthansa is facing another round of pilot strikes linked to a pension dispute with the union Vereinigung Cockpit.

Earlier strike action caused hundreds of cancellations and disrupted tens of thousands of passengers. Lufthansa itself referred to labor disputes as one reason for accelerating the strategy move.

Lufthansa said it has already offered follow-up employment options to CityLine staff. Ground employees were offered roles at a newly founded Lufthansa Aviation GmbH, while cockpit and cabin crew had previously been offered transfer options to Lufthansa City Airlines under protected pay conditions.

Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash