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EasyJet profits plunge 70% as fuel costs soar amid Iran war

easyJet has reported a 70% drop in pre-tax profits due to soaring fuel costs and later bookings linked to the conflict in Iran. Ryanair also saw a 34% decline in profits, with both airlines facing headwinds from higher oil prices and consumer hesitancy.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 20–23, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

Low-cost carrier easyJet has reported a 70% slump in profits, attributing the decline to soaring fuel costs and a trend of later bookings driven by the conflict in Iran. The airline, which has recently agreed to a £5.7bn takeover, saw pre-tax profit fall to £85m between April and June, compared with £286m in the same period a year earlier. Fuel costs increased by £105m after the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East in late February sent energy prices rocketing.

Coverage Comparison

The two UK-based outlets covering this story, BBC and The Guardian, both highlight the impact of Middle East tensions on airline finances, but they lead with different carriers. BBC's coverage focuses on Ryanair, noting that the Irish airline's profits fell sharply as war in the Middle East sent jet fuel prices soaring and made customers reluctant to book flights. The Guardian, meanwhile, centres on easyJet's 70% profit slide, also citing fuel costs and booking patterns, while additionally covering the takeover bids for the airline and a potential EU review of airline ownership.

Key Claims

The two reports agree on the core narrative: the Middle East conflict, which escalated after US and Israel strikes against Iran in February, has driven up jet fuel prices and dampened demand. Ryanair reported a 34% drop in pre-tax profits to €593m (£503m) for the April-June quarter, with sales flat and fares cut to stimulate demand. The airline also said summer fares would be slightly lower than last year. easyJet reported a larger percentage decline, with pre-tax profit down 70% year-on-year to £85m.

The war has pushed up the price of fuelling planes. Ryanair noted that while it had hedged most future fuel costs, the cost of unhedged fuel had more than doubled. Crude oil prices hit $90 a barrel for the first time in a month after a weekend of intense exchanges of fire between the US and Iran. The Guardian adds that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and gas supplies, has ground to a halt. An interim peace deal last month had brought some respite, but prices spiked again as negotiations broke down.

Both airlines note that customers are booking closer to departure. easyJet said bookings had begun to improve but that passengers were continuing to book just before travel. Ryanair's chief financial officer, Neil Sorahan, said flights on Mediterranean routes were still full, with people "keen to get away as ever, albeit booking just a little bit later." Ryanair expected fares for the July-September peak to be "modestly" lower than last year.

easyJet's chief executive, Kenton Jarvis, said "pricing has been attractive, driving strong late booking demand for our flights and holidays." However, the airline conceded that passengers were looking for deals before committing to trips.

Ryanair warned its yearly results would be "highly sensitive" to external factors such as conflict escalation in the Middle East and Ukraine, and the price of unhedged jet fuel.

easyJet's profit slide came just weeks after the airline agreed to a takeover. The board originally accepted a £5.5bn bid from Castlelake, but then recommended a higher offer from Apollo Global Management worth £5.7bn, more than £7 a share. The Guardian reports that a potential EU review of airline ownership has cast uncertainty over the deal. easyJet shares rose more than 5% in early trading on Thursday, despite the profit slump.

Perspectives

easyJet: The airline under CEO Kenton Jarvis emphasises that pricing has been attractive and late booking demand strong, with consumer confidence increasing during the peak summer season. The company acknowledges that fuel prices remain volatile and that its outlook depends on remaining bookings, but frames the profit decline largely as a result of external factors.

Ryanair: The airline highlights the impact of conflict escalation and the cost of unhedged jet fuel, while noting that passenger demand remains robust. Finance chief Neil Sorahan stresses that flights are full and people are keen to travel, despite booking later.

Investors: Market sentiment has been mixed, with Ryanair's share price falling 5% and easyJet's rising over 5% despite its profit slide, possibly reflecting perceptions of the takeover situation.

How each outlet told it

BBC — World as of Jul 20, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC

Framing: Ryanair's profits fall due to Middle East conflict — Neutral

Facts Included:

Ryanair's profits have fallen sharply
War in the Middle East sent jet fuel prices soaring
Customers reluctant to book flights
Pre-tax profits dropped 34% to €593m
Sales were flat
Company was forced to cut fares to stimulate demand
Summer fares to be slightly lower than last year
Price of fuelling a plane has jumped
Crude oil prices hit $90 a barrel
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt

Read the source article →

The Guardian — World as of Jul 23, 2026, 8:45 AM UTC

Framing: easyJet's profits slide due to Iran conflict and takeover bids — Neutral

Facts Included:

easyJet's 70% slide in profits
Soaring fuel costs and later bookings due to Iran conflict
easyJet's takeover bids
EU review of airline ownership
easyJet's customer bookings improvement
Ryanair's 34% drop in profits

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimRyanair's profits have fallen sharply due to the war in the Middle East and soaring jet fuel prices.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from BBC — World as of Jul 20, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimRyanair's pre-tax profits dropped 34% to €593m between April and June.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from BBC — World as of Jul 20, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe price of fuelling a plane has jumped due to the conflict in the Middle East.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from BBC — World as of Jul 20, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimCrude oil prices hit $90 a barrel for the first time in a month.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via BBC — World as of Jul 20, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC
ClaimTraffic through the Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via BBC — World as of Jul 20, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC
ClaimRyanair expects summer fares to be slightly lower than last year.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via BBC — World as of Jul 20, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC
ClaimEasyJet's profits have slid 70% due to soaring fuel costs and later bookings as a result of the conflict in Iran.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 23, 2026, 8:45 AM UTC
ClaimEasyJet's pre-tax profit was £85m between April and June, compared to £286m during the same period a year earlier.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 23, 2026, 8:45 AM UTC
ClaimThe EU is preparing to review airline ownership rules, potentially affecting easyJet's planned takeover bids.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 23, 2026, 8:45 AM UTC
ClaimCustomer bookings for easyJet have begun to improve.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Jul 23, 2026, 8:45 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: BBC — World, The Guardian — World 10 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14