The ongoing war in Iran is significantly impacting the global aviation industry, leading to jet fuel shortages and soaring prices. This is affecting flight routes worldwide.
On April 21, Germany’s largest airline, Lufthansa, announced it would cancel 20,000 flights between May and October to conserve fuel. The airline estimates these cancellations will save approximately 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel. Prices for this fuel have doubled since the conflict began.
KLM, the Dutch airline, has already cancelled 160 flights scheduled for the next month. Other airlines across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region are also considering price increases and potential mass cancellations as summer approaches. Fatih Birol, from the International Energy Agency, stated that Europe faces only six weeks of jet fuel supply. Meanwhile, the EU’s Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen warned that the situation is shifting from high prices to a supply crisis.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has severely disrupted oil and gas supplies, with Europe heavily reliant on kerosene for jet fuel from the Middle East. Some EU member states are discussing sharing jet fuel stocks to ensure air travel can continue.
Despite differing views on supply longevity, experts agree that airlines are vulnerable to these kinds of shocks. The EU plans to present measures, including a possible increase in jet fuel purchases from the US to mitigate the crisis, highlighting the industry’s fragility amid geopolitical tensions. Airlines worldwide are bracing for further cancellations, price hikes, and a challenging travel environment ahead.
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