Some airports are ‘already running out of jet fuel’, the boss of Lufthansa has warned – amid fears the crisis could hit fans travelling to North America for the World Cup.
Carsten Spohr, CEO of the German airline, revealed that one of the planes flying to Cape Town was unable to refuel on landing last week and had to fly 900 miles north to Namibia to fill up before returning to South Africa.
He revealed that Lufthansa are now drawing plans to include scheduled refuelling stops on flights to Africa and Asia if fuel shortages become more widespread.
‘If you cannot reach your target airport with the fuel that you’ve got, then you have to do refuelling stops – we are not there yet, but we are preparing for this,’ he said.
Fuel prices have surged since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran upended traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz, leading to the worst crisis for airlines since Covid.
The conflict now appears to have descended into a stalemate, with Donald Trump yesterday cancelling his ‘Project Freedom’ to help vessels leave the strait after just one day following requests from ‘mediator Pakistan and other countries’.
Lufthansa has already cut 20,000 short-haul flights from its summer timetable and is grounding older aircraft.
With Goldman Sachs describing jet fuel supplies as having fallen to ‘critically low levels’, there are fears fans travelling to the World Cup could be hit by price hikes and travel uncertainty.
Passengers gathering under a departure board at Thessaloniki airport in Greece this morning
Francois-Joseph Schichan, head of Flint Global’s Geopolitics practice, told City AM: ‘Whilst the routes to North America are most profitable for airlines and therefore least likely to be cancelled, the uncertainty for fans planning to attend the World Cup in the US, Mexico or Canada, particularly for a short trip, might put at least some of them off from travelling.’
The threat of higher fares is another blow to fans who are already facing having their bank accounts clobbered by the ‘most expensive World Cup in history’.
FIFA are charging supporters up to $10,990 (£8,333) for the privilege of watching the World Cup final at the MetLife Stadium on Sunday, 19 July.
Meanwhile, hotel prices in host cities have been upped by as much as 300 per cent, while fares for a train from New York to the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will cost $150 (£110) – up from the usual $12.90 (£9.50).
Globally, airlines have already cut two million seats from May’s schedules within the past two weeks.
The total number of seats across all carriers this month fell from 132,619,704 in mid April to 130,674,864 in late April, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
The number of flights fell by more than 13,000 over the same period – from 859,167 to 846,162 – with Gulf airlines such as Qatar, Etihad and Emirates worst hit by the war causing airspace closures and airport disruption, as well as rising fuel costs.
Now, the situation could worsen – with one expert saying 10 per cent of flights could be at risk in June if supplies continue to be squeezed, equating to about 85,000.
Paul Charles from travel consultancy The PC Agency told the Mail: ‘Airlines are now being forced to cut flights and make difficult decisions ahead of the peak season.
‘It is better for them to cancel flights well in advance so that passengers are less inconvenienced than a last-minute change of plan. As the Iran conflict continues, there will need to be many more cancellations as the jet fuel supply is squeezed.
‘I think carriers may have to look at cutting up to 10 per cent of flights if the squeeze on jet fuel supplies continues. Recent UK government changes in slot rules mean that airlines don’t have to fear losing their slots the more they cancel.’
Smoke billows from Fujairah oil industry zone in the UAE on Monday following a drone attack
Mr Charles added that the total number of cancellations depends on the market given some airlines are less affected than others – but certain carriers will now be planning for the ‘worst- case scenario’ and a prolonged period of reduced supplies.
Cirium also revealed yesterday that airlines have axed 120 of the 22,613 departures initially scheduled from UK airports in May, equivalent to 0.53 per cent.
The number of outbound flights planned for June is 36 down on one week ago – equating to a 0.2 per cent drop as capacity for the month falls by 7,972 seats.
The average global jet fuel price increased for the first time in a month last week to $181 (£134) per barrel, according to International Air Transport Association data.
This 1 per cent week-on-week rise followed three consecutive weeks of decline after a peak of $209 (£155) at the start of April – up from $99 (£73) at the end of February.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs warned Britain is particularly vulnerable to jet fuel shortages amid a rationing risk as supplies could fall to ‘critically low levels’.
In the UK, the Government has now introduced a temporary rule change allowing airlines to group passengers from different flights together on to fewer planes as part of plans to save fuel.
This could see passengers moved from the service they originally booked to a similar one to reduce the amount of wasted fuel from flying planes that have not sold out and might have been cancelled.
But the move has been criticised by consumer group Which? who said rules should not be ‘bent in favour of airlines’.
The Prime Minister warned last week that Britons may need to change their summer holiday plans because of the jet fuel crisis.
Sir Keir Starmer said people might rethink ‘where they go on holiday this year’ if the war continues to impact airlines.
His intervention went further than the Government’s current messaging, which is that there is ‘no current need to change upcoming travel plans’.
Donald Trump – pictured yesterday – has ditched his ‘Project Freedom’ plan to clear the Strait of Hormuz
A UK Government spokesperson said: ‘UK airlines are clear that they are not currently seeing a shortage of jet fuel. Aviation fuel is typically bought in advance and airports and suppliers keep stocks of bunkered fuel to support their resilience.
‘We continue to work with fuel suppliers, airports, airlines and international counterparts to keep flights operating. We are also consulting on measures to help airlines plan realistic flight schedules which will avoid last-minute disruption and protect holidays.’
Mr Trump’s decision to cancel Project Freedom is said to have followed a backlash from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi leadership was blindsided by the president’s plan to secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the Kingdom to inform the US that it would deny permission for American military aircraft to use Prince Sultan Airbase or enter Saudi airspace for the operation.
Two US officials said a call between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Mr Trump did little to diffuse the tension, forcing the US President to axe the project, NBC News reports.
Other Gulf allies were also caught by surprise when Mr Trump initially revealed the plan, with one Middle Eastern diplomat telling the outlet that the US did not coordinate Project Freedom with Oman until after he made the announcement.
Qatar was also informed after the project had already began, with the emir urging de-escalation in a call with the president.
Mr Trump had launched the new initiative on Sunday to wrest control of the critical waterway from Iran, which effectively closed the strait after the US and Israel started the conflict on February 28.
He said that he made the decision to pause Project Freedom in response to requests from Pakistan and other nations, while claiming progress being made on an agreement with Tehran was also a factor.
