Sky News ground to a halt this afternoon for a breaking announcement – and it could be very bad news for British people wanting to travel abroad this summer. As the breaking news banner flashed across the bottom of the screen, the show’s presenter began: “Breaking news to bring you now. This is from the International Energy Agency Chief Fatih Birol, saying that Europe may have six weeks or so of jet fuel left, warning of possible flight cancellations.”
He added: “We, of course, heard similar warnings from the boss of Europe’s biggest airline, Ryanair, in previous weeks as well, talking about potential disruption through the course of the early summer. As we approach mid-April, that would align with about June, according to these warnings from Fatih Birol.”
The Sky News host said he was sure the markets would be watching the outcomes of any potential talks between the US and Iran very closely.
He added: “For the moment, looking at maritime tracking data right now live, it is showing a pretty bleak scene across the Strait of Hormuz, where so much of the world’s fuel and oil passes, with very little activity.”
It comes as Birol told Associated Press the impact will be “higher petrol (gasoline) prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices.”
He also said some parts of the world will be hit worse than others, explaining the front line is the Asian countries which rely on energy from the Middle East. He added: “Then it will come to Europe and the Americas.”
Birol explained that if the Strait is not reopened, “we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be cancelled as a result of a lack of jet fuel”.
Taking to the comments section on X, one person penned: “Wait, if we’ve got 6 weeks left, surely that means all flights will be cancelled in 7 weeks?”
A second added: “Six weeks is a tight timeline. This really highlights why sustainable aviation fuel development matters now more than ever.”
Someone else penned: “The irony of making our planes take the long way for a rescue operation, burning additional European fuel, is not lost on me.”
