Official Issues Serious Warning About European Jet Fuel Supplies Ahead of Summer Travel Season

A prolonged shutdown of a key oil route is choking jet fuel supply, forcing Europe to scramble for alternatives.

BY LEILA SHERIDAN, NEWS WRITER

Airline passengers at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. Photo: Getty Images

Europe’s airline industry might soon run out of fuel. The head of the International Energy Agency has warned the continent may have “maybe 6 weeks of jet fuel left” if current supply disruptions continue, raising the risk of flight cancellations at the height of summer travel.

At the center of the problem is the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for oil and jet fuel exports out of the Persian Gulf. The passage has been more-or-less closed for more than six weeks following Iranian retaliation to U.S. and Israeli attacks, sharply limiting global supply and sending prices higher, BBC reported. 

In its latest monthly report, the International Energy Agency warned that Europe, which relies heavily on imported fuel, could be especially vulnerable. The region sources roughly 75 percent of its jet fuel imports from the Middle East, according to the agency.

Without those flows, shortages could emerge quickly. IEA executive director Fatih Birol told the Associated Press that if the situation persists, airports could begin running low on fuel, forcing airlines to cut flights.

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The issue isn’t limited to Europe. Refineries in major exporting countries like Korea, India, and China also depend on crude from the Middle East. That broader reliance has, as the IEA put it, “thrown a proverbial wrench into the inner workings of the aviation fuel markets.”

In response, European countries are scrambling to replace lost supply. Some shipments are coming from the U.S.. Consequently, the IEA noted a recent surge in American jet fuel exports.

But even if all additional U.S. exports were redirected to Europe, they would replace only a little more than half of the lost Middle Eastern supply, the agency said. That shortfall is critical. If Europe can’t replace at least half of those imports, “physical shortages may emerge at select airports,” the IEA warned, potentially forcing airlines to cut flights. Even replacing up to three-quarters of supply may only delay disruptions until later in the summer.

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