Europe's biggest holiday company has moved to calm fears about aviation fuel supplies this summer, saying there is enough jet fuel to keep flights running through the peak season even as prices climb because of the war in Iran.
Mathias Kiep, chief financial officer of Tui Group, told The Independent: "I'm very much convinced that we will see no shortage in the next 10 weeks. There's definitely enough fuel."
He added that debate around fuel availability had been overblown. Speaking to The Independent as the company released its financial results for October 2025 to March 2026, Kiep said rising prices had actually made oil production more profitable in countries like Nigeria, which had stepped in to help meet European demand. Refinery capacity was also up and consumption was running below last year's levels.
Kiep also said that even if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed long term, shortages would still not materialise. Tui had hedged against higher fuel costs, meaning the price spike would not directly hit customers.
The UK government backed that position. A government spokesperson said airlines were not currently seeing a shortage of jet fuel and that aviation fuel is typically bought in advance, with airports and suppliers holding reserves to maintain resilience.
Tui described its first half of the financial year as "very successful" but warned the second half would need "great dedication and flexibility." The Iran war cost the company 40 million euros in lost sales and the expense of repatriating customers from the Middle East and Asia. Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica added another 5 million euros in losses.
Air bookings for summer are running 7 per cent below last year. The company said travellers were comfortable booking two or three weeks ahead but reluctant to commit months in advance.
Cruise occupancy dropped from 97 to 93 per cent. Two ships from Tui's German cruise operation were stranded in the Gulf for 10 weeks because of the conflict. Despite all of this Tui said it had seen no drop in people's desire to travel and no shift away from flying towards other transport options.
