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Spain's holiday season under threat as airlines warn they could run out of jet fuel within weeks
Ryanair is warning of potential supply disruptions across Spain in May and June unless the Iran conflict ends soon
Spain's summer tourism season is facing a potentially serious threat. The ongoing war in Iran is causing real alarm among airlines and airports across Europe, with concerns growing that jet fuel supplies could start running out within weeks, right at the point when millions of holidaymakers are planning their trips.
At the heart of the problem is the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which around 20% of the world's oil traffic normally passes. Since Iran's closure of the strait, fuel supply chains have been under increasing pressure, and that pressure is now beginning to show up in some very stark warnings from the aviation industry.
ACI Europe, the organisation that represents EU airports, has written to the European Union flagging what it describes as growing concern about jet fuel availability and calling for proactive monitoring and urgent action.
“If passage through the Strait of Hormuz does not resume in a meaningful and stable manner within the next three weeks, systemic jet fuel shortages will become a reality for the EU,” the letter reads.
That three-week deadline lands on May 4.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has echoed these sentiments.
“Fuel suppliers are constantly monitoring the market,” he said. "We don't anticipate any disruption until early May, but if the price war continues, we risk supply disruptions in Europe during May and June, and we hope the war ends sooner and the supply risk is eliminated.”
He went on to put a number on the potential impact, adding that the airline considers there to be "a reasonable, low-level risk that between 10% and 25% of our supplies could be at risk during May and June."
On the other hand, “if the war ends in April and the Strait of Hormuz reopens, then there will be virtually no risk to supply,” he added.
For Spain, the timing couldn't be worse. The country's tourism sector is one of the most important in Europe, and the peak summer season brings tens of millions of visitors, the vast majority of whom arrive by air. Any meaningful disruption to flight schedules in May and June would hit hotels, restaurants, resorts and local businesses at exactly the moment they're counting on the season to get going.
For now, airlines still have several weeks of fuel reserves and the situation remains fluid. But with the clock ticking and no resolution to the Iran conflict in sight, the industry is watching very closely, and so is anyone whose livelihood depends on those summer flights touching down on time.
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