Europe has just six weeks of jet fuel left, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned. It comes as the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil transit passage, remains shut due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of IEA, said flights could be cancelled across Europe if the vital passageway remains shut. The benchmark price of European jet fuel has surged from $831 (£614) per tonne at the start of the war to $1,838 (£1,387) at the beginning of April. Some airlines have already begun taking emergency measures due to rising fuel costs.
According to Mr Birol, Europe has “maybe six weeks of jet fuel left”. This means airports could face critical shortages by May, causing travel chaos for Brits heading abroad.
Mr Birol told AP: “In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world.”
He added that “everybody is going to suffer” without the permanent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He continued: “Some countries may be richer than the others. Some countries may have more energy than the others, but no country, no country is immune to this crisis.”
Around 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passes through the strait. The passageway, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabic Sea, is used by the world’s biggest crude oil tankers as well as major Middle Eastern oil and LNG producers.
However, it has remained shut by Iran for over six weeks in response to attacks by the USA and Israel. The closure has sent fuel prices rocketing and sparked fear of shortages.
ACI Europe, which represents airports in Europe, recently warned that fuel reserves will run drastically low if the route is not reopened within three weeks. In Italy, a number of airports have already reported fuel shortages, while Brindisi-Casale Airport, in the south of the country, confirmed it was temporarily without Jet A1 fuel.
Other airlines, including United Airlines, have cut flights to avoid surging costs. The airline announced it would slash 5% of flights, which equates to around 250 every month, later this year in response to the situation.
