British Airways owner sees profits hit by soaring jet fuel costs

International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, reported a sharp profit decline as jet fuel costs surged amid the Iran war and additional operational disruptions. For the three months to September 30, IAG said pre-tax profits fell 12.9% to €1.63 billion, while operating profits dropped 15.9% to €1.73 billion. Revenue rose 4.5%, but could not offset a 30.4% jump in jet fuel costs, plus knock-on effects from air traffic control outages. A National Air Traffic Services incident on September 8 led to cancellations of more than 2,000 flights. IAG expects total fuel costs to reach €8.9 billion for the financial year.