Qantas' shares fall more than 10% on US-Iran conflict

CANBERRA - Shares of Australia's flag carrier Qantas Airways slumped more than 10% to their lowest level in 10 months  on Monday after the US and Israel launched large-scale strikes on Iran over the weekend, sending oil prices surging.

The firm's shares fell as much as 10.4% to A$8.92 each  when the Australian market opened on Monday, the lowest level since May 2, 2025, before paring some losses to trade down 5.8% by 2345 GMT.

Global air travel remained in turmoil on Sunday as war in Iran forced the closure of key Middle Eastern hubs including Dubai and Doha for a second day, stranding tens  of thousands of passengers worldwide and disrupting thousands of flights.

Shares of Virgin Australia, Australia's No. 2 airline, slipped as much as 3.5% on Monday to A$3.03 per share to hit their lowest in nearly a month, before  recouping losses to gain around 1.9%.

Shares of Air New Zealand fell as much as 0.5% to NZ$0.553 each, slipping to their lowest level since April 7, 2025, before  paring losses to trade flat.