TAP has never paid so much for the fuel it consumes. The Portuguese airline spent 566 million euros on fuel in the first half of the year, a record value in the historical series that goes back to 2018. The second highest value had been recorded in 2023, at 542 million euros. In the second quarter, the bill of 370 million euros also constituted a historical high since 2020.
The price of jet fuel on the international market is currently 74% more expensive compared to the previous year, costing 163 dollars in Europe, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This increase is directly linked to the war in the Middle East, which has been ongoing for six months and has been causing global geopolitical instability.
Despite the high fuel costs, TAP registered operational records in the first half of the year. The number of passengers rose 4% to 8.2 million and revenues increased by more than 4% to more than two billion euros, driven by strong demand and a fleet with more aircraft.
However, TAP's losses increased by 40% in the first half of the year, to 99 million euros, due to the high price of fuel caused by the war in the Middle East. Fuel costs surged by more than 50% in the second quarter, to 270 million euros, having risen by 19% in the first quarter.
