B2 News World News · May 03, 2026

The threat to summer holidays looming from jet fuel shortages

Blocked Gulf shipping route sends jet fuel prices soaring, threatening summer flights and fares.

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Jet fuel prices have surged more than 120% since the Strait of Hormuz was blocked eight weeks ago, and the crisis is now threatening to derail summer travel plans for millions of passengers across Europe.

The Gulf region normally supplies around 20% of the jet fuel traded on international markets each day. Europe is particularly reliant on those imports — more than half of its supply typically comes from the Gulf. But with the strait closed, airlines and fuel suppliers have been scrambling to source alternatives, pushing prices to record highs. The UK, as Europe's biggest consumer of jet fuel, is especially exposed, with 65% of its supply coming from abroad and just four refineries still operating domestically.

For airlines, fuel already accounts for 25–30% of operating costs, so the spike has hit profitability hard. Some carriers hedged their fuel purchases in advance, locking in lower prices — but even that strategy offers only partial protection. EasyJet, for example, hedged 80% of its supply at $717 per tonne, yet sourcing the rest at today's prevailing prices cost the airline an extra £25 million in March alone. Unless extra supplies can be found, a lack of fuel could lead to further disruption and cancellations heading into the peak summer holiday period.

Several major airlines have already pared back their schedules. Lufthansa announced it would cut 20,000 flights through October, while Air France KLM, Air Canada and SAS have also trimmed capacity. Fares are rising sharply too — particularly on long-haul routes. A flight from London to Melbourne in June now costs 76% more than it did last year, a steep reduction in capacity having combined with high fuel prices to make tickets a lot more expensive. United Airlines' CEO has said the company will do 'whatever it takes' to pass 100% of fuel cost increases on to passengers.

Industry analysts warn that routes which were only marginally profitable before the crisis are now firmly loss-making. With no clear timeline for the strait reopening, passengers should brace for a summer of higher fares, fewer flights, and real uncertainty.

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📚 Key vocabulary

hedging (noun)
a financial strategy where a company buys fuel or other goods in advance at a fixed price to protect against future price increases
"The airline's hedging strategy helped it avoid the worst of the fuel price spike last quarter."
refining capacity (phrase)
the ability of industrial facilities to process raw materials like crude oil into usable products such as jet fuel
"The country's limited refining capacity means it must import most of its aviation fuel."
marginally profitable (phrase)
making only a very small profit, so that any increase in costs can quickly turn the activity into a loss
"Several of their regional routes were already marginally profitable before fuel costs began to rise."
pare back (verb)
to reduce something, especially by cutting parts that are no longer affordable or necessary
"The company pared back its operations after demand dropped sharply during the crisis."
prevailing (adj)
existing or most common at a particular time, especially referring to current market prices or conditions
"Buying supplies at prevailing market prices proved far more expensive than their contracts had anticipated."

✨ Useful phrases for this topic

"bear the brunt of"
Use this when describing who suffers the most from a problem or negative situation.
"It was the economy class passengers who bore the brunt of the fare increases, while business class prices stayed relatively stable."
"scrambling to source"
Use this to describe an urgent, disorganised effort to find or obtain something that is suddenly in short supply.
"After the factory fire, procurement teams were scrambling to source alternative components from suppliers across Europe."
"firmly under water"
Use this in a business context to describe a product, route, or project that is clearly losing money rather than breaking even.
"With logistics costs doubling overnight, several of their delivery contracts went firmly under water within weeks."

Advanced sentence structures

Patterns from this article you can use in meetings, emails, and everyday English

Structure 1

In context

Unless extra supplies can be found, a lack of fuel could lead to further disruption and cancellations heading into the peak summer holiday period.

The skeleton

Frame: Unless [solution] can be [found/achieved/agreed], [problem] could lead to [negative consequence].

What it does: Sets up a warning by naming the only condition that would prevent a bad outcome.

Quick swap: "Unless a replacement driver can be found, the delay could lead to serious disruption for customers."

More examples

  • "Unless a budget agreement can be reached, the funding shortfall could lead to widespread redundancies across the sector."
  • "Unless stricter safety standards can be enforced, rising accident rates could lead to a complete review of the regulations."
  • "Unless alternative suppliers can be identified, the parts shortage could lead to significant delays in production."

Easy exercise

Arrange the words and add the missing structural elements to build a correct sentence.

  1. new routes · found · unless · could lead to · a lack of capacity · be · further cancellations
  2. unless · a new venue · be · found · the event · could lead to · a last-minute postponement · can
Show answers
  • "Unless new routes can be found, a lack of capacity could lead to further cancellations."
  • "Unless a new venue can be found, the event could lead to a last-minute postponement."

Open exercise

Write your own sentence using this structure. You can write about anything — here are some ideas if you need them:

  • A travel disruption or transport problem you have heard about
  • A challenge your company or workplace is currently facing
  • A problem in your city or local area, such as housing or traffic

One possible answer: "Unless a compromise can be reached, the ongoing dispute could lead to a breakdown in negotiations between the two companies."

Structure 2

In context

A flight from London to Melbourne in June now costs 76% more than it did last year, a steep reduction in capacity having combined with high fuel prices to make tickets a lot more expensive.

The skeleton

Frame: [Factor A] having combined with [Factor B] to make [noun] [comparative adjective].

What it does: Links two causes together to explain a result, adding detail after the main statement.

Quick swap: "Remote working having combined with rising rents to make city-centre offices far less attractive."

More examples

  • "A surge in demand having combined with supply chain delays to make new cars significantly harder to find."
  • "Increased competition having combined with higher production costs to make profit margins much tighter for small retailers."
  • "Poor weather having combined with staff shortages to make the festival's opening weekend far more chaotic than expected."

Easy exercise

Arrange the words and add the missing structural elements to build a correct sentence.

  1. higher energy bills · a drop in consumer confidence · having combined with · to make · household budgets · much tighter
  2. longer working hours · having combined with · a lack of childcare · to make · the role · far less appealing · for many candidates
Show answers
  • "Higher energy bills having combined with a drop in consumer confidence to make household budgets much tighter."
  • "Longer working hours having combined with a lack of childcare to make the role far less appealing for many candidates."

Open exercise

Write your own sentence using this structure. You can write about anything — here are some ideas if you need them:

  • Two reasons why travel or flights have become more difficult or expensive
  • Two factors that have made your job or studies more challenging recently
  • Two reasons why buying a home or renting has become harder in your country

One possible answer: "Stricter visa requirements having combined with higher airfares to make international travel considerably more stressful for many people."

💬 Discussion questions

1

If your company needed to send employees abroad this summer, how would you decide whether to rebook, delay, or cancel the trips given the rising costs?

2

Some airlines pass 100% of fuel cost increases directly to passengers, while others absorb some of the loss. Which approach do you think is fairer — and smarter — for long-term business?

3

The UK's limited refining capacity has made it especially vulnerable to this crisis. What lessons does this have for how companies or countries should think about supply chain risk in your industry?

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