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A source says airports in some countries will run out of fuel quite quickly.
09:51, Thu, Mar 19, 2026 Updated: 09:55, Thu, Mar 19, 2026
Oil market disruption mainly affects countries in Asia and Europe, the IEA says (Image: Getty)
The threat of jet fuel shortages risks long-haul flight cancellations at the end of the Easter holiday. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led oil traders to expect see supplies squeezed over the coming weeks.
The International Air Transport Association said the conflict in the Middle East had exposed "deep vulnerabilities in jet fuel security". It said Europe is among the most exposed as up to 30% of the continent's jet fuel demand originates from the Persian Gulf.
The Association told The Times: "The sudden withdrawal of shipping capacity and the sharp rise in insurance premiums have tightened availability amid mounting concerns over physical shortages."
Energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency, has said disruption to the oil market mainly affects countries in Asia and Europe.
Law firm, Watson Farley & Williams, which specialises in energy, infrastructure and transport, told The Times airlines will have to reduce operations if fuel stocks are depleted.
It said flight cancellations can be expected even with carriers flying from their home bases where there is a reliable fuel supply.
A source involved in the global supply chain warned airports in some countries would run out of fuel "quite quickly".
Iran has intensified its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbours' energy sites, hitting a Saudi refinery on the Red Sea on Thursday as well as setting Qatari liquefied natural gas facilities and two Kuwaiti oil refineries ablaze.
Israel attacked South Pars gas field - one of the world's largest (Image: Getty)
The attacks followed an Israeli strike on Iran's South Pars natural gas field in a major escalation of the war, which has sent global fuel prices soaring.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked to $114 (£85.94) per barrel as global fears of an energy crisis rose.
This was up more than 57% since Israel and the United States started the war with strikes on Iran on February 28.
A ship was set on fire off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and another was damaged off Qatar, underscoring the constant danger facing vessels due to Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic waterway is used to transport a fifth of the world's oil.
Saudi Arabia had begun pumping large volumes of oil west to avoid the strait and ship it from the Red Sea. But the security of that route was called into question after an Iranian drone hit the country’s SAMREF refinery in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.
Qatar, a key source of natural gas for world markets, said firefighters put out a blaze at a major LNG facility after it was hit by Iranian missiles.
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Production had already been halted there after previous attacks, but it said the latest wave of missiles caused "sizable fires and extensive further damage".
Damage to the facility could delay Qatar in getting its supplies to the market even after the Iran war ends.
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