The Iran war has claimed its first major European aviation casualty after Scandinavian Airlines became the first significant carrier on the continent to axe flights in response to rocketing fuel costs. SAS — which operates as the national carrier for Denmark, Norway and Sweden — confirmed on Tuesday it was withdrawing a substantial number of services from its timetable, blaming an energy market upended by the Middle East conflict. “Given the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the sharp and sudden increase in global fuel prices, we are taking measures to strengthen our resilience,” a spokesman said. “One such measure is a limited number of short-term flight cancellations.” Hundreds of departures have been pulled this week, with the airline focusing the cuts on brief internal Scandinavian hops where alternative services exist. SAS is one of the continent’s busiest operators, connecting roughly 25 million passengers to destinations worldwide each year. Threat to European aviation The decision has amplified fears that the Hormuz crisis could snowball into a sector-wide emergency across Europe, reports the Telegraph. The …