The US and Iran have been in conflict since February 28 when joint US-Israeli forces carried out strikes on several strategic Iranian sites and Iran retaliated by striking sites across the Middle East and closing the critical Strait of Hormuz trade route.
About 20% of global oil traded passes through the strait, which remains closed.
Despite a fragile short-term ceasefire agreement, no long-term peace deal has been reached, leaving oil prices turbulent.
The UK’s easyJet and Jet2 have updated customers on flight plans heading into the summer holidays.
EasyJet’s chief executive Kenton Jarvis told BBC Radio 4’s Today that that passengers should not be worried about their bookings. He said that the airline has experienced no issues with fuel availability.
Jet2 has also confirmed that it has ample fuel and will not impose surcharges. It said it has received “positive updates” from its fuel suppliers and detailed increased production and additional imports from areas unaffected by the war.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has, however, warned travellers to prepare for higher air fares as airlines struggle to absorb escalating costs stemming from trade disruptions.
IATA’s director general Willie Walsh told the BBC that while there is no immediate concern regarding potential jet fuel shortages, but the inevitable consequence of rising fuel prices will be an increase in air ticket costs.
“There may be some instances where airlines will discount to stimulate some traffic flow… but over time it’s inevitable that the high price of oil will be reflected in higher ticket prices,” he said.
May has seen dramatic flight cancellations.
Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows almost 300 departures from UK airports were cancelled in May.
But week-on-week schedule reductions for June remain limited at 48 fewer outbound flights. July has seen a reduction of 31 flights week-on-week. August shows a minimal decrease of just four flights.
Heathrow Airport has recorded just over 100 cancellations. These are extensions of previously planned operations to airports in the Gulf region, where resumption dates have been further delayed, rather than new disruptions.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
