Airports Council International warns of systemic jet fuel shortages due to Strait of Hormuz closure

Airports are bracing for mass shortages of jet fuel if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen within the next three weeks, according to a trade body.

Airports Council International (ACI), which represents more than 600 airports, warned of a "systemic" shortage in a letter to the European commissioners for energy and transport and tourism.

The body's director-general Olivier Jankovec wrote in the letter: "At this stage, we understand that if the passage through the Strait of Hormuz does not resume in any significant and stable way within the next three weeks, systemic jet fuel shortage is set to become a reality for the EU.

"The fact that we are entering the peak summer season... is only adding to those concerns."

He urged authorities to monitor the jet fuel supply over the next six months, alongside action that can be taken to increase production within Europe.

Mr Jankovec continued: "This crisis has exposed the reduced refining capacity of the EU for jet fuel production, and its acute dependence on imports from other world regions."

Supplies of jet fuel have plummeted since Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical international shipping route, in response to US/Israeli attacks.

Analysts have also warned that soaring jet fuel prices can be quicker to pass through to airfares than road fuel and household energy costs.

Ryanair's boss Michael O'Leary said earlier this month that if the war continues, then there was a risk of "disruptions in Europe in May and June", adding that "maybe 10%, 20%, 25% of our supplies might be at risk".

Despite suggestions from the White House that the Strait of Hormuz would be open after the US and Iran came to a ceasefire agreement, there is still nowhere near the number of vessels passing through as there was before the war.