Holidays 'at risk' as EU warns of 'serious crisis' amid fuel price surge - after major airline cancels thousands of flights
"It’s very likely that many people's holidays will be affected by flight cancellations or very expensive tickets”, the EU warns.
Travellers have been warned their holiday plans could be at risk as jet fuel prices soar amid the Iran war.
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The EU has warned of a “very serious crisis” as aviation fuel stocks come under threat following Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Dan Jorgensen, the EU energy commissioner, says it’s very likely “that many people's holidays will be affected, either by flight cancellations or very, very expensive tickets”.
He said it is primarily a crisis of prices and “not yet a crisis of supply”. But he warned but unfortunately we cannot be sure to prevent a crisis of supply, especially on jet fuel in the future, if the crisis continues."
"Even if we do everything we can do, if the jet fuel is not there, then it's not there," he told Sky News.
It comes after the International Energy Agency warned significant supply issues could take place in the next five to six weeks.
Read more: Major European airline axes 20,000 flights this summer amid rising jet fuel costs
Read more: UK inflation accelerates after Iran war drives sharp rise in fuel prices
Earlier on Wednesday, German-based Lufthansa announced that it has removed tens of thousands of "unprofitable" short-haul flights from its schedule through to October.
Among the journeys cancelled are those from Frankfurt to Bydgoszcz and Rzeszów in Poland, as well as Stavanger in Norway. The daily schedule has seen around 120 flights scrapped.
It anticipates that it will save 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel through these measures, adding that the price of fuel has doubled since the outbreak of the conflict with Iran.
This comes as it was announced that UK inflation lifted to its highest since December after a sharp jump in diesel and petrol prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, fuel prices have risen sharply, with the average price of petrol rising by 8.6p per litre between February and March to 140.2p per litre.
The rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation increased to 3.3 per cent in March from 3 per cent in February, the Office for National Statistics said.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has also revealed that the cost of air travel has increased significantly, with inflation of 14.5 per cent compared with the same month last year.
The rise in air fares, which analysts have partly linked to the early timing of the Easter holidays, was the highest since July last year.
But speaking to LBC News on Wednesday, the CEO of Brittany Ferries accused the travel industry of "profiteering" from the conflict with Iran as he vowed his company will not increase prices or cancel services.
Christophe Mathieu has told LBC News that he believes airlines and ferry operators are using the situation in the Middle East as an opportunity to cancel flights or put their prices up.
He said: "Of course, this fuel price is an item that is very important in the cost structure of any transport company.
"But the way of managing that normally is to hedge and we hedge in Brittany Ferries, therefore we are surprised."
He added that his company had already bought its fuel for the next few months when it was at a price of around $70 (£51.81) per barrel."Because we've bought it forward," he said.
"It's irrelevant today that the prices are going up because our cost will remain as if the barrel was at $70.
"What I find bizarre is that at the moment there is no shortage and yet they're already cancelling some flights, which is a bit bizarre."