Ryanair’s CEO has warned there is no “100% guarantee” that Europe will not face supply problems from June onwards, as a jet fuel crisis looms.
Fuel costs have soared and more than doubled since the war in Iran began in February and many airlines around the world have reduced the number of flights or raised prices.
Speaking to Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary politicalsaid the situation was “slightly improving at the moment”, but supply issues could not be ruled out in the near future. O’Leary said: “Our suppliers, which are all the major oil companies, are saying, ‘We don’t see any significant problems until the beginning of June.'”
According to O’Leary, the pressure was reduced due to jet fuel coming from West Africa, the United States and Norway. He also mentioned increasing supplies from Russia.
But “no one is telling us that there is a 100 percent guarantee in June, July and August,” he also warned. He also said some European airlines could go bankrupt if they could not deal with rising costs. “Many of our low-cost competitors will fail in the autumn,” he said.
talking to political He also said Ryanair is somewhat insulated from price rises because it has met about 80 percent of its fuel needs at the pre-war price of $67 a barrel, while the remaining 20 percent must be purchased at about $150 a barrel.
International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol warned this month that Europe had “perhaps six weeks” of jet fuel left, and that if oil supplies remain restricted because of the Iran war, it could result in holiday cancellations.
In response to the warnings, the FCDO has stressed that there is “no current need” for travelers to change their travel plans for this summer. UK airlines said they are not currently seeing a shortage of jet fuel as it is generally purchased in advance, with airports and their suppliers holding stocks of bunker fuel to support their flexibility.
However, the energy crisis has already prompted some airlines to raise ticket prices or add fuel surcharges, with both KLM and Lufthansa reducing their flight schedules due to rising fuel costs.
Lufthansa has also announced the immediate closure of its feeder airline CityLine, taking 27 older aircraft out of service early, Scandinavian carrier SAS has canceled at least a thousand flights in April, and easyJet has taken a £25 million hit over rising fuel prices.
