Holidaymakers could face travel disruption when flying abroad this summer due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, according to Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary.
Between 5 per cent and 10 per cent of flights in May, June, and July could be cancelled if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, the airline chief told ITV News.
It comes amid Iran’s effective blockade of the waterway, the crucial gas and oil shipping route, has cut off approximately 40 per cent of Europe’s jet supplies.
O’Leary admitted that some holidaymakers may get stuck abroad, but said that it is an airlines responsibility to get its customers home.
He urged holidaymakers to book their plane tickets in advance to avoid paying higher price fares.
O’Leary explained: “We have aircraft that are based at 95 airports across Europe.
“And we’ll have to cancel routes at whichever airport where the fuel company advises us they’re short of jet fuel at, say, Malaga Airport or Athens Airport.
“It’ll be those kind of decisions. And we’ll get very little notice – we’ll be told, I think, within five or seven days.
“So we will then be looking around and we will be trying to ground one or two aircraft and minimise inconvenience for customers.
“But it’s going to be difficult, it’s going to be challenging.”
O’Leary said the blame for any cancellations should lay at the feet of the US president and not the airlines.
Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper has condemned Iran’s “recklessness” for "hitting global economic security", as she addressed a virtual meeting of ministers on Thursday.
The meeting was aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz which remains largely blocked to commercial traffic, causing record-high oil prices.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, is trading around $112.42 per barrel, up from roughly $75 a year ago.
Donald Trump previously said countries that rely on the strait should “build up some delayed courage” and take control of it themselves.
Despite Trump’s remarks, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has admitted unblocking the lane will not be easy.
Another meeting next week among military planners will consider how to make the strait “accessible and safe” after the fighting has stopped, although this is not expected to involve the deployment of Royal Navy warships to police the waterway.
