Britons’ summer holidays could be at risk due to low jet fuel stocks because of the war in Iran, the European Union’s energy chief has warned.
Dan Jorgensen, the EU’s energy commissioner, said it is “very likely” that people’s holidays will be affected by cancelled flights or very expensive tickets.
He told Sky News on Wednesday that Europe is in a “very serious crisis” that is currently only affecting prices, but could soon also impact supply.
The aviation industry’s fuel stock has faced significant disruption due to the lack of movement of oil through the key shipping route of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Unfortunately, it’s very likely that many people’s holidays will be affected, either by flight cancellations or very, very expensive tickets,” Mr Jorgensen said.
“Even if we do everything we can do, if the jet fuel is not there, then it’s not there.”
He added: “[Currently] it is primarily a crisis of prices and not yet a crisis of supply, but unfortunately we cannot be sure to prevent a crisis of supply, especially on jet fuel in the future, if the crisis continues.”
Danish politician Mr Jorgensen warned the price crisis could last for “months and maybe even years”.
Last week, the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol warned that Europe only has around six weeks of jet fuel supply left in what he fears could be “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced”.
Lufthansa’s airline group also said on Tuesday it has cancelled 20,000 flights in a bid to protect itself from the soaring cost of oil.
The group operates the German flag carrier Lufthansa, its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, such as Swiss, Austrian, ITA, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and Discover Airlines.
It added it is aiming to save 40,000 metric tonnes of jet fuel, which it said had doubled in price, but it expects a largely stable fuel supply for its summer timetable.
Ryanair also said it does not expect any near-term fuel shortages, but that if the closure of strait continues into May or June, it “cannot rule out risks to fuel supplies at some airports in Europe”.
It comes as the European Commission on Wednesday proposed a series of measures to address the impact on the region's energy markets from the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Europe is particularly vulnerable as it imports some 30-40 per cent of its jet fuel, and at least half of that from the Middle East.
Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, said: “Aviation is a low-margin industry. When the price of fuel doubles, flights which were only marginally profitable can become heavily loss-making.”
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