Europe faces jet fuel shortage within six weeks due to Iran war

Europe has approximately six weeks of jet fuel remaining before shortages will force flight cancellations, according to Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency.

Birol told the Associated Press on Thursday that airlines will soon begin canceling flights if oil supplies from the Middle East are not restored within the coming weeks. "I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be cancelled as a result of lack of jet fuel," he said.

The warning comes seven weeks after a US-Israel war on Iran closed airspaces and forced the aviation industry to cancel and reroute hundreds of flights. Airlines traversing the Middle East have since begun returning to normal traffic patterns following a two-week truce between Iran and the US, but the underlying fuel supply crisis persists.

KLM, part of the Air France-KLM group, announced Thursday that it would cut 160 flights in the coming month due to high kerosene jet fuel prices. The Dutch airline said the cancellations affect a limited number of flights within Europe that are no longer financially viable to operate given rising fuel costs. Although the reductions represent less than 1% of KLM's schedule, they underscore financial pressures facing the airline industry.

KLM stated there is currently no kerosene shortage, but acknowledged it expects a busy May ahead. The airline's decision to reduce flights reflects the economic strain of elevated fuel prices rather than immediate supply unavailability.