A report published by the American newspaper “The New York Times” warned of an imminent aviation fuel crisis that seriously threatens airlines, especially European ones, in a way that may hinder their ability to operate their flights.
The Iranian war and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz have prompted airlines to increase their ticket prices and reduce the number of flights, but it appears that some of them will soon have difficulty securing sufficient quantities of jet fuel needed to operate their flights.
In a recent development, Ryanair, a low-cost airline that controls the internal market in Europe, announced that its suppliers are unable to guarantee the provision of sufficient quantities of jet fuel due to the cessation of oil movement through the Strait of Hormuz.
The company explained in a statement that “fuel may be scarce if energy ships do not begin passing through the Strait of Hormuz soon.”
She added: “If the Iran war ends soon, the supply will not be affected, but if the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues until May or June, we cannot rule out the risks of interruption of fuel supplies at some European airports.”
It is noteworthy that Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the war, and after the failure of recent negotiations with the United States, the US military imposed a blockade to prevent Iranian exports through the Strait, and Iran threatened on Wednesday to disrupt trade throughout the region.
Europe relies heavily on importing jet fuel, due to the closure of many of its oil refineries over the past decades.
The United Kingdom, which is the largest consumer of jet fuel in Europe, has only four refineries, after it had eighteen refineries in the 1970s.
Europe is the largest consumer of jet fuel shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, as shipments through the Strait represent about 41% of Europe’s total jet fuel imports, and about 36% of Africa’s total imports of it, according to estimates by Macquarie Group, an Australian financial services company.
As of Tuesday, global jet fuel prices had risen by about 80% compared to their pre-war levels, according to the Platts index, and airlines around the world had raised ticket prices and reduced the number of unprofitable flights.
