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Airlines around the world could be forced to cancel flights this summer as supplies of jet fuel run low, the head of the International Air Transport Association said this week.
In an interview with Reuters, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said Asia will likely be affected first, followed by Europe, then Africa and Latin America.
“I think we will see airlines starting to reduce some of their schedules as we go towards the peak summer period in anticipation of some fuel shortages,” Walsh said.
Still, the IATA chief said he does not expect a complete collapse in air travel in the coming months.
“I think that people will continue to fly through the summer period and that people will expect to have a holiday during the summer as they have in previous years,” Walsh said, pointing to ongoing strong demand.
The price of jet fuel has doubled since the beginning of hostilities between the U.S., Israel, and Iran in late February. Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one quarter of the world’s seaborne oil passes in peacetime. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has also bombed oil and natural gas infrastructure in neighboring U.S.-allied Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, further disrupting energy markets.
Asia is considered particularly vulnerable to the crisis because many countries there rely heavily on imported fuel. At the same time, Asian countries with their own production and refining capabilities, including China and South Korea, are reducing exports to ensure their domestic needs are met.
