Air Canada suspends NYC route over jet fuel costs

Air Canada said Friday it was suspending flights to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport from June through October because of jet fuel cost increases caused by the Iran war.

"As jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict and some lower-profitability routes and flights are no longer economic, we are making schedule adjustments," Air Canada said in a statement.

The national carrier said its service to JFK would be paused from June 1 to October 25, but the airline will continue flying 34 times daily from six Canadian cities to New York's LaGuardia Airport and Newark, New Jersey.

The suspended services include flights to JFK from Toronto and Montreal. Air Canada said it "plans to resume" those flights after October 25.

Around a fifth of the world's jet fuel normally transits through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had blockaded since late February in response to Israeli-American air strikes.

Iran said Friday it was opening the strategic waterway for the duration of a Middle East ceasefire, but jet fuel shortages could persist even if the truce holds.