IAG H1 profits drop on fuel costs, no capacity growth expected this year.


BA and Iberia owner IAG reported a drop in first-half profit on Friday as the war in the Middle East caused fuel costs to surge, and said it no longer expects any capacity growth this year.

  • International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI)
  • 31 July 2026 10:47:25
British Airways

Source: Sharecast

In the six months to the end of June, profit after tax fell 20.6% to €1bn, while operating profit declined 14.4% to €1.6bn. Total revenue nudged up 1% to €16bn and IAG said this was a "resilient" revenue performance despite lower capacity than planned.

IAG, which also owns Vueling and Aer Lingus, said "disciplined" cost control had partly mitigated the impact of a significant fuel price increase.

The company said it now expects capacity to be flat in 2026 compared to the previous year.

Chief executive Luis Gallego said: "With these results IAG has again demonstrated that its excellent fundamentals are supporting continued value creation for our shareholders, despite the impact of the crisis in the Middle East and wider geopolitical events.

"We are well-positioned to deal with these near-term headwinds with a diverse portfolio of world-class brands in large and attractive markets; industry-leading margins; significant free cash flow and a strong balance sheet; and attractive shareholder returns.

"Our long-term transformation programme has created the resilience that we are now benefitting from - products and services that our customers value, efficient and punctual operations and a low cost base. Each of our businesses is very focused on continuing to execute their transformation plans to deliver further long-term benefits."

At 1025 BST, the shares were down 0.7% at 435.55p.

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