European Transport and Tourism Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas warned of potential fuel supply pressures in the European Union linked to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
"The situation as it has developed with the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is not good. There are fuels available, of course, but one must take into account that prices have soared, more than doubling, with the result that at this moment many airlines are stopping routes which were not financially viable even before the war," he said, speaking on Greek broadcaster Skai.
Tzitzikostas stated that fuel costs account for a significant share of airline operating expenses. "You should calculate that 40% of an aircraft's operating cost is its fuel. At this stage, we are not facing fuel shortages, but we are facing a huge issue with the increase in aviation fuel prices. This does not mean that, if the war continues and no solution is found, after June, problems will not begin to appear, even shortages," he underlined.
He reiterated that, based on current information, shortages have not yet occurred. "At the moment, I repeat, there is no issue of shortage - more than 80% of airports tell us this. However, if the war and instability in the region continue and the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen by June, then things will begin to tighten. We will have flight cancellations in the coming period - we are already seeing this - but these are linked to cost and not to fuel shortages."
The Commissioner also referred to EU-level contingency planning and monitoring mechanisms. "A shortage of fuels will take time to be seen in Europe, in the sense that we also have emergency reserves. With the measures we announced last week, member states are now obliged to notify us daily of available emergency reserves, so that we know where they are and in what quantities at any given time. If we see that the market tightens after June, we will release these reserves, provided that this release is carried out in a way that does not create further problems," he added.
