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Travellers planning to head abroad have been warned about the potential impact from the Iran war.
20:41, Fri, Apr 10, 2026 Updated: 20:59, Fri, Apr 10, 2026
Holiday makers have been warned about a potential shortage of jet fuel (Image: Getty)
Shortages of jet fuel could stretch into the summer months, putting thousands of holidays in peril. Industry officials warn that a fragile truce between the US and Iran that will in theory reopen the Strait of Hormuz would not automatically undo the damage caused by weeks of conflict across the Gulf.
Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, an airline lobby, said on Wednesday: “If it were to reopen and remain open, I think it will still take a period of months to get back to where [jet fuel] supply needs to be.” Airports Council International (ACI), which represents more than 600 airports, wrote a letter to the European commissioners for energy and transport and tourism, warning of the potential for a “systemic” shortage of jet fuel ahead of the peak summer season. The body’s director-general Olivier Jankovec wrote in the letter: “At this stage, we understand that if the passage through the Strait of Hormuz does not resume in any significant and stable way within the next three weeks, systemic jet fuel shortage is set to become a reality for the EU.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has impacted global oil supplies drastically (Image: Getty)
“The fact that we are entering the peak summer season… is only adding to those concerns.”
Supplies of jet fuel from the Middle East have been disrupted since the US-Israel’s war with Iran because of Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical international shipping route.
This has led to soaring prices and warnings that flights could be affected because of Europe’s reliance on fuel imports from around the world.
Analysts have also said higher jet fuel prices can be quicker to pass through to airfares than road fuel and household energy costs.
Ryanair’s boss Michael O’Leary said earlier this month that if the war continues, then there was a risk of “disruptions in Europe in May and June”, adding that “maybe 10%, 20%, 25% of our supplies might be at risk”.
Sir Keir Starmer has been visiting allies in the Gulf for talks on how to support what he described as a “fragile” ceasefire between the US and Iran, which was agreed this week.
He spoke to US President Donald Trump about the need for a “practical plan” to get shipping going through the Strait of Hormuz amid suggestions Tehran wants to charge vessels for passage.
In its letter, the ACI says jet fuel supply for the next six months needs to be urgently monitored by the European Commission, including identifying action that can be taken to increase production within the EU.
It also asks them to consider temporarily lifting restrictions and regulations that limit the ability to import jet fuel.
“This crisis has exposed the reduced refining capacity of the EU for jet fuel production, and its acute dependence on imports from other world regions,” Mr Jankovec warned on behalf of the body.
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist for Wealth Club, said: “Carriers have had to deal with a more than doubling of fuel costs since the conflict erupted and the threat of shortages lingers.
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“As the war has put a chokehold on supplies from the Middle East, it has caused other nations which produce jet fuel to impose export bans, causing trade to seize up further.
“It will take time to unwind panic positions, and for jet fuel prices to stabilise, so airlines are likely to continue to pass on the cost to passengers for the foreseeable future.”
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