As the war in Iran passes the 100-day mark, the cost for America’s airline industry is mounting.
On Friday, a report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) stated that U.S. airlines paid nearly $6.5 billion in fuel costs in April. That was up more than 26 percent from March and up 78 percent from April 2025, the BTS noted.
The cost per gallon of jet fuel in April was $4.11, up 94 cents from March and an increase of $1.81 from a year prior.
Energy costs have risen around the world since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, which the Iranian military responded to by restricting transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
The reopening of the waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, is a key tenet of peace negotiations between the Trump administration and officials in Tehran. But those were set back again this weekend as Iran and Israel traded strikes for the first time in weeks.
Amid negotiations, transit through the strait has remained limited, with just 10 ships passing through in the last 24 hours, according to hormuzstraitmonitor.com. The site notes that 60 vessels go through the waterway daily under normal conditions.
Increased jet fuel costs are making a significant dent in airlines’ margins. A Sunday report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) noted that the group expects airlines to achieve a combined total net profit of $23 billion this year, $18 billion less than its previous projection.
The IATA, which represents more than 370 airlines in the U.S. and around the world, stated that it expects the net profit per passenger to decrease from $9.10 in 2025 to $4.50 this year.
Willie Walsh, the director general of the IATA, said in the report that the Iran war and rising fuel costs “have shifted the outlook for airlines to the worse.”
Walsh added, “Some of the additional cost is being recuperated by adjusting prices and improving efficiency, but it will not be sufficient to maintain profitability at the previous year’s level. Smaller carriers that started the year with weak balance sheets are certainly struggling.”
In the U.S., passenger carriers have passed on higher fuel costs to customers in the form of higher baggage fees. Spirit Airlines, meanwhile, ceased operations in May after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice in the prior two years.
Last month, Airlines for America warned that domestic airlines are reducing flight frequencies on some routes, deferring aircraft deliveries and raising fares “when necessary” ahead of the summer travel season — which will feature Americans and international visitors traveling around the U.S., Canada and Mexico for the FIFA World Cup.
