European airlines are facing their biggest challenge since the COVID-19 pandemic as the Iran war pushes up jet fuel prices and buffets travel through the Middle East, casting a shadow over the summer holiday season.
Reuters – Carriers have been largely riding out the crisis with hedges that have tamed costs even as the price of jet fuel has risen nearly 84% since the start of the conflict on February 28, but they could face shortages if the war does not end soon.
"There is a risk that we'll see rationing of fuel supply, particularly in Asia and Europe," Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association, told Reuters on Tuesday, while adding that supply remained robust for now.
Walsh said, however, that the situation was not yet as bad as the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which led to travel demand plummeting and hundreds of billions of dollars in losses for the aviation sector.