A renewed tension in the Middle East and the resurgence in oil prices are posing pressure for vulnerable European airlines, with investors and industry executives seeing mounting signs that financially weaker carriers may be headed for a shakeout.
British budget carrier easyJet is nearing a U.S.-led takeover that would see the 30-year-old airline go private at a valuation far below its pre-pandemic peak, airBaltic is looking for short-term financing to stave off default and Norway's Norse Atlantic is undertaking a strategic review.
While much of the industry cleaned up its finances after the COVID-19 pandemic, the fuel spike has weighed on share prices and exposed the fragile balance sheets of some carriers that are now pondering restructurings, buyouts or even bankruptcy protection.
"We are pitching, I think, four or five very large airlines on restructuring situations just at the moment across Europe," Barema Bocoum, head of EMEA at financial advisory firm Interpath, told Reuters.
The global airline industry last month nearly halved its 2026 profit forecast, citing the Middle East conflict that has driven up fuel costs, disrupted key air corridors and exposed the fragility of a sector operating on thin margins.
