Jet Fuel rolling updates - Summer 2026

We initially posted about the small possibility of aviation disruption due to news from Fatih Birol on the 16th April 2026, the Chief of the International Agency (IEA), relating to Jet fuel. The original statement is below. We will continue to post about this ongoing news story in rolling updates, so please come back and check the link for further updates. The most recent news will be at the top of the post.

Latest update: 22nd April 2026
The latest news, connected to Jet fuel issues and the risk to Summer 2026 holidays has been reported today. This news came from an EU Press conference, where they warned of a “very serious crisis” potentially affecting Europe, due to issue with aviation stocks stating to run low due to the ongoing war in Iran.

The EU announced several measures to try and assist with the ongoing issues, including optimising the ongoing distribution of required jet fuel between EU countries to try and prevent airline fuel shortages, assisting with the timing of purchases of products to avoid price rises and other related issues. The EU Commission will also map out Europe’s transport fuels supplies to optimise fuel distribution to avoid shortages. It will also review the EU requirement for countries to be able to hold at leats 90 days of oil stock to include jet fuel requirement.

Brussels will also create guidance on how any jet fuel shortages will be dealt with, such as the impact of airlines losing slots due to cancellations.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “The choices we ⁠make ⁠today will shape our ability to face the challenges of today and the crises of tomorrow. Our AccelerateEU strategy will bring both immediate ⁠and more structural relief measures to European citizens and businesses.”

Dan Jorgensen, the energy commissioner for the EU however said, "Unfortunately, it's very likely that many people's holidays will be affected, either by flight cancellations or very, very expensive tickets. Even if we do everything we can do, if the jet fuel is not there, then it's not there. [Currently] it is primarily a crisis of prices and not yet a crisis of supply, but unfortunately we cannot be sure to prevent a crisis of supply, especially on jet fuel in the future, if the crisis continues."
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It's also been reported that several airlines have begun to take steps to reduce flight demand. Some airlines are adding a surcharge or raising ticket prices, to cover increase in fuel costs. Lufthansa has announced the cancellation of around 20,000 flights this summer due to the doubling of the price of jet fuel in the last six weeks. Other airlines such as Delta and KLM have also decided to cut some flights on a temporary basis.

As previously mentioned, this is a difficult and continually changing situation that no one can control. At the moment there is no indication that flights to Zakynthos are affected and flights are arriving and departing as normal. We’d advise that you keep an eye on updates from your airlines and travel companies, though and we’ll continue to update our members on the situation as soon as we have


Older update (posted to Facebook page): 16th April 2026
We’re aware of the latest news from Fatih Birol, the Chief of the International Agency (IEA), relating to Jet fuel. The announcement this morning states that Europe “may have maybe six weeks of jet fuel remaining” with concerns about possible aviation disruption, if current issues with the war in Iran and the blockade of the strait of Hormuz, continue.
The IEA chief noted that if the strait of Hormuz is unable to be open and operable soon, then the worst case scenario is that some flights may be cancelled. No specific date, countries or airports have been announced though, and this is just a “maybe” at this stage.
It's a continually changing situation that no one can control. Despite the current IEA warning, no one can say IF this will happen. We would urge caution, and advise that people don’t to panic and if you do have concerns about your upcoming trip, please keep an eye on the news and liaise with your travel company for the latest updates.
To avoid any further speculation, worry or panic, we won’t approve any further posts relating to this, but will, for now, leave the comments open for members to share valid information. Please however respect members and admin, and refrain from posting anything that will cause member conflict. 

Combined sources: IEA, EU, Reuters, Bloomberg, the BBC and Sky News