Good Morning Britain presenters Ed Balls and Susanna Reid warned ITV viewers to ‘forget about their summer holidays’ as the Iran war drives up jet fuel costs, with airlines cancelling flights
Good Morning Britain was halted for a bombshell announcement(Image: ITV)
Anyone in the UK hoping to jet off abroad this summer has been warned to reconsider their plans. Good Morning Britain was interrupted as Ed Balls and Susanna Reid delivered the pressing announcement. The presenter informed viewers: “You can forget about your summer holidays,” disclosing that this is the caution being issued to air passengers expecting to fly overseas this year.
GMB host Susanna outlined that the conflict in Iran is doubling jet fuel costs, meaning carriers will probably either slash flights or hike ticket prices. Ed added: “UK operators are now calling on the government to bring in emergency measures in a confidential letter seen by ITV News. They’re asking for help to protect fuel supplies, reduce taxes on tickets and ease compensation rules.”
The duo passed over to correspondent Nick Dixon, who provided additional information on the development from Heathrow airport.
Ed emphasised that flights are presently operating normally, but the International Energy Agency has warned services could be axed shortly because there are only a few weeks’ worth of fuel remaining.
He said: “It’s at the stage where the airlines are very carefully monitoring their reserves of jet fuel, no indication of cancelled flights just yet, or shortages, but clearly the airlines want to have some sort of backup plan in place and that’s what they’re pushing for at the moment.”
He disclosed some carriers have already taken measures and scrapped short-haul services to try and preserve fuel for the weeks and months ahead. Nick continued: “Virgin Atlantic and EasyJet have expressed concern about this as well.
“Virgin has cancelled one of its long haul routes. EastJet has said beyond mid-May they are unsure about what they will do for jet fuel and how they will get more supplies.”
In their correspondence to the government, airlines have been lobbying for assistance to ease or cut air passenger duty to help reduce travel costs while permitting overnight flights to maintain operations, reports the Express.
Travel expert Simon Calder recognised that most people want to know whether their flights will be affected.
He explained: “It may well be that if the airlines win concessions from the government, we start to see some tactical flight cancellations of what would otherwise be loss-making departures.”
Nick added: “In response to this, the department for transport has said its continuing to work with fuel suppliers, airlines and international counterparts on contingency planning to ensure that people keep moving and businesses are supported while the conflict is ongoing.
“But it’s all quite vague at the moment and not really helpful for passengers, who may have already spent hundreds, if not thousands of pounds on flights.”
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