Summer holiday threat as Europe has ‘maybe 6 weeks of jet fuel left’

There are concerns for summer holiday travellers as Europe has “maybe 6 weeks or so (of) jet fuel left” and the price of kerosene continues to soar. The head of the International Energy Agency has warned of possible flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol called it “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. He told the Associated Press that it will have “major implications.”

“In the past, there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire situation now, and it will have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,” he said.

The impact will be “higher petrol (gasoline) prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices,” and some parts of the world will be “hit worse than the others.” He said that first, it will be “the Asian countries” that rely on energy from the Middle East, such as Japan, Korea, India, China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

“Then it will come to Europe and the Americas,” he added, and said that if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reopened, he expected widespread flight cancellations this summer as a result of a lack of jet fuel.”

Airlines for Europe (A4E) asked the European Commission this week to activate crisis protocols. The lobby group’s members include Ryanair and Aer Lingus. A number of airlines have already announced that it will have to make cuts in the coming months as a result of current jet fuel issues. KLM has said it will be reducing 160 flights in the next few weeks.

Lufthansa is to shut its regional service and is planning major changes to its operations as a result of soaring fuel costs and following staff strike action. The German airline’s CityLink service, which included over 80 destinations around Europe, is being axed. The airline has claimed it has had to cut the fleet of 27 aircraft as a direct result of rising jet fuel prices and recent industrial action.

The group said on Thursday that it has been significantly affected by “kerosene prices, which have more than doubled compared to the period before the Iran-Iraq War, and rising costs resulting from labour disputes.”

“The 27 operational aircraft of Lufthansa CityLine will be permanently removed from the flight programme starting the day after tomorrow, in order to reduce further losses at the struggling airline. The Canadair CRJ aircraft are nearing the end of their service life and have comparatively high operating costs,” the group announced.

Till Streichert, Chief Financial Officer and CFO of the Lufthansa Group, said: “This is a painful step, especially for our colleagues at Lufthansa CityLine. It is therefore all the more important to find continued employment opportunities within the Group.”

In recent weeks, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary claimed the airline may be forced to axe 10% of its flights this summer if jet fuel costs remain an issue. The Ryanair chief said: “We’re all facing an unknown scenario. And we are certainly looking at maybe having to cancel 5%, 10% of flights through May, June and July.” Speaking on ITV, O’Leary suggested that anyone whose flights are cancelled should ‘blame Trump’ rather than the airline.

In comments to SkyNews, the Ryanair chief added: “Fuel suppliers are constantly looking at the market. We don’t expect any disruption until early May, but if the war continues, we do run the risk of supply disruptions in Europe in May and June.”

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