Airline body chief says jet fuel shortage triggered by Iran war could impact Asia first

The jet fuel shortage triggered by the US and Israel’s war against Israel could hit Asia hardest first, followed by Europe, Africa, and Latin America, according to Willie Walsh, the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Walsh said on April 28 that the concern is for a potential shortage during the peak summer period in the northern hemisphere. He added that rationing of fuel across Asia and Europe might lead to some flight cancellations.

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“I think we ​will see airlines starting to reduce some of their ​schedules as we go towards the peak summer period in anticipation of some fuel shortages,” Reuters quoted Walsh as saying.

However, Walsh said that he still expects travel to continue, unlike the COVID-19 pandemic when air travel was effectively ground to a halt during its peak.

Walsh believes that people will continue to fly through the summer period, adding that “people will expect to have a holiday during the summer as they have in previous years”.

Further, Walsh highlighted that the demand for jet fuel continues to remain strong around the world.

The supply of Jet A fuel, which has a higher freezing point, could be useful in easing supply challenges in Europe, Walsh said. “We could see supplies of Jet A fuel being used in Europe, provided we have the regulators move fast ⁠enough and ​that they’re satisfied that the ​specification of the fuel is okay to use,” the head of IATA added.

Indian airlines seek urgent help over rising ATF prices

Indian airlines have sought urgent help from the government amid rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, stating that the industry is under extreme stress and on verge of closing down or stopping its operations.

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which comprises Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, has written a letter to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and requested support for ATF pricing to continue airlines operations amid West Asia crisis.

Highlighting that ATF prices have become increasingly unpredictable and hurting both domestic and international operations, the FIA has urged the government to suspend the 11% excise duty on ATF for domestic operations on a temporary basis. Also, it has asked to reinstate a “crack band” pricing mechanism and reduce VAT in key aviation hubs.

FIA said India’s airline industry is under extreme stress and on verge of closing down or stopping its operations as the ATF prices for international operations increased by 73 rupees per litre.

“Any adhoc pricing… or irrational increase in the price of ATF will result in unsurmountable losses for airline and will lead to grounding of aircraft resulting in cancellation of flights,” it added.