U.S. airlines’ April 2026 aviation fuel cost up 26.2%, consumption down 2.6%

This release is published on a fixed schedule as required by the Office of Management and Budget, and statistics in this release may be revised when inputs to the statistics are corrected or updated. Data on the program page of this website are the most up-to-date and complete. All costs are in current dollars. All fuel consumption data is in regard to fuel paid for by the carrier.

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ April 2026 fuel cost and consumption numbers indicating total fuel expenditure ($6.47B) of U.S. scheduled service airlines was up 26.2% from March 2026 ($5.12B) and up 78.0% from April 2025 ($3.63B). The airlines used 1.573 billion gallons of fuel, 2.6% less fuel than in March 2026 (1.615 billion gallons) and 0.2% less fuel than April 2025 (1.575 billion gallons). The cost per gallon of fuel in April 2026 ($4.11) was up 94 cents (29.6%) from March 2026 ($3.17) and up 181 cents (78.2%) from April 2025 ($2.31).

Total fuel cost for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service

Fuel cost per gallon for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service

Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service