Airline share prices in Europe and across the world moved sharply lower on 2 March as conflict raged in the Middle East. Carriers were hit by the immediate impact of airspace closures and have largely shut down air travel in the region. Flight-tracking data shows empty skies above Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Iran itself, although flights are operating within Saudi Arabia, particularly in the west of the country. There is also traffic in Omani airspace. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has issued a Conflict Zone Information Bulletin stating that there is a "high risk to civil aviation" in the region and that carriers should avoid flying at all airspace levels. This applies to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and is valid until 6 March. Most airlines in the region have suspended their operations, and carriers from elsewhere in the world have axed services to affected countries. A secondary concern for investors is the impact of the conflict on oil prices, as fuel typically accounts for around a quarter of an airline's costs. Oil prices surged by more than 8% in early Asian trade on 2 March, pushing Brent crude above $82 per barrel, as conflict effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, observes energy information provider ICIS, which like Cirium is RELX-owned. ICIS notes that the situation is "threatening a broader disruption to global downstream petrochemical trades". It adds that around a third of global seaborne crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Shipowners and traders are implementing a voluntary pause in operations via the transitway. This means that disruption will extend "well beyond crude", notes ICIS, as the strait is a critical artery for refined products destined for Asia. Cirium data for airlines based in Europe, North America and India lists the following as having cancelled flights on 2 March: Turkish Airlines (45 flights cancelled), Indigo (28), Air India (18), Wizz Air (10), Lufthansa (seven), British Airways (five), KLM (five), Air France (four), United Airlines (four), Air Canada (two), Delta Air Lines (one) and American Airlines (one). At 12:30 GMT, airline stocks in Europe were sharply lower across the board. Shares in Wizz Air, an airline relatively exposed to the region, were down 6.7%. Ryanair was down 2.3%, IAG 5.5%, and Lufthansa 5.9%. Air France-KLM was down over 8%, with the conflict likely to have compounded news of a large fine it has to pay under a legal ruling.

Qantas has highlighted the benefits of its incoming fleet as a key driver of a 5% lift in its underlying profit before tax for the six months ended December to A$1.46 billion ($1.04 billion). The rise in profit came on a 6.3% rise in revenue to A$12.9 billion compared to the same period the year before, as strong passenger demand pushed total unit revenue up 2.3%. RPKs increased 2.9%, which was outpaced by a 3.9% rise in ASKs that pushed seat factor back by 0.8 percentage points to 84.7%. Unit costs, meanwhile, rose 2.2% to 14.4 Australian cents, and excluding fuel were up 3.3% to 11.1 cents. Net profit after tax was broadly steady at A$925 million as it recognised A$149 in other costs, which included A$47 million related to the closure of Jetstar Asia in July 2025. During the six months, the group took delivery of nine new aircraft, comprised of four Airbus A220s, one A320neo, two A321LRs and two A321XLRs. It also took delivery of nine mid-life aircraft. “We're already seeing the benefits from the next generation aircraft that are flying, which along with strong demand, our dual brand strategy and expanding Loyalty business, helped us deliver another strong result," commented chief executive Vanessa Hudson. Qantas Domestic was the standout of its airline operations, delivering an underlying EBIT of A$676 million, up 4%, on a steady margin of 16.1%. The company states that both business and leisure travel experienced strong demand growth, while it commenced operating its A321XLRs and the A220 operation grew to 11 units. On the international and freight front, underlying EBIT was down 8% to A$300 million as capacity rose 5% while RASK grew only 2%, pushing seat factor down 1.8 points to 84.1%. It also noted that there were wage escalation and industry cost pressures that impacted the segment. Low cost carrier group Jetstar pushed its EBIT up 12% to A$492 million, driven by "strong price sensitive demand" in the domestic market, and yield increases on international services from Australia, while it also benefited from the delivery of one A321neo and two A321LRs. "Around 60 per cent of Jetstar's increase in profitability in the half was driven by its new aircraft, through a combination of growth, new network opportunities and the redeployment of existing aircraft onto other routes," says Hudson. "This gives us confidence in the benefits that will flow once Qantas’ new aircraft reach scale. We've already started to see an acceleration in deliveries for Qantas, with six new aircraft arriving in the half and a further 30 arriving over the next 18 months." In its outlook, Qantas says that it expects "strong travel demand across the portfolio" but is monitoring conditions in the US and also expects that net freight revenue in the second half will be flat. Hudson also pointed to "a sharp increase" in airport fees and government charges, which would be offset by the A$400 million in transformation benefits expected this year. Across the group, capacity in the second half is expected to rise by 4%, although Qantas International will rise by 8% and Jetstar International will fall by 4%.

Indigo Partners has sold 10 million shares in Wizz Air, around 9.7% of the airline's total capital, significantly reducing the stake held by the investment firm. The sale was made to institutional investors only, at £12.50 per share, raising around £125 million ($168 million). Indigo Partners retains a roughly 14.2% stake in the central European budget carrier. Wizz's stock has been trending downward over the past several years, as the airline was hit hard by geographical conflict in Ukraine and the grounding of much of its fleet amid Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issues. Its shares are down 77% over the past five years, including an intraday decline of 8.9% as of 12:30 GMT. Indigo Partners is a private equity firm and long-time major investor in Wizz as well as in other carriers such as Frontier Airlines, Volaris, JetSmart and Cebu Pacific. It has often bundled aircraft orders across its airlines, including Wizz, to secure discounts from OEMs. "The placement was driven by certain investors in the funds managed by Indigo Partners seeking to realise their investment following an extended holding period," says Wizz.