The biggest crisis in 8 decades, will the whole of Europe stop because of Iran?

Europe’s airlines are facing a severe oil crisis. Due to Iran’s strict blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, jet fuel is not arriving from the Gulf countries. If no solution is found soon, airlines across Europe may have to suspend their services within weeks. Germany’s Lufthansa Airlines has cut around 20 flights until October due to the war.

The company has also shut down its subsidiary ‘Cityline’ last week. Apart from this, the company is also merging Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss and ITA Airways. On February 28, America and Israel attacked Iran together. Since then many countries have been facing shortage of jet fuel. Prices have also more than doubled. Many companies have imposed different fuel surcharges on different routes. As a result people have to travel expensively.

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In Europe alone, long-haul travel costs about $103 and intra-Europe flights cost about $33 more. A large number of people travel to Europe in the summer. Europeans also go to other countries. Tourism will suffer due to lack of fuel in such weather. Governments and airlines are forced to make decisions like fuel rationing and flight cancellations.

How big is the jet fuel crisis?

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, says Europe may have six weeks of jet fuel left. This is the biggest energy crisis ever. If supply continues to be disrupted, flights may also be cancelled.

Speaking to Arab News, Claudio Galimberti, chief economist at Ristad Energy, described it as the worst energy crisis in eight decades. He says it could take five to seven weeks for Europe’s airports to run out of fuel. Even if the Strait of Hormuz opens, there will be no immediate relief.

What countries does Europe depend on?

The European Union gets about one-third of its jet fuel and two-thirds of its crude oil from imports. But due to the Iran war, this supply line has been completely stopped. About 30 percent of Europe’s jet fuel imports come through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Transport and Environment. According to 2024 figures, Europe buys about 95 percent of its jet fuel from other countries.

Countries selling finished jet fuel to Europe

• Kuwait: 11%
• UAE: 5%
• India: 5%
• Saudi Arabia: 3%
• South Korea: 2%
• China: 2%
• Egypt: 2%
• Other: 6%

Crude Oil Exporting Countries: Europe buys crude oil from some countries. After this it is refined at home. Jet fuel and other petroleum products are produced from it. Even these countries are not capable of supplying Europe as it needs.

• USA: 10%
• Norway: 7%
• Kazakhstan: 7%
• Saudi Arabia: 5%
• Libya: 5%
• Nigeria: 4%
• Iraq: 4%
• UK: 3%
• Azerbaijan: 3%
• Brazil: 3%
• European Union: 3%
• Other countries: 13%

More crisis on these European countries

Some fuel is supplied to Central and Northern Europe by the Central Europe Pipeline System, NATO’s largest petroleum network. This pipeline is about 5300 km long. Through this, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium are supplied. On the other hand, countries like Italy, Greece and Spain are largely dependent on supplies from tankers. Due to this, Italy became the first European country to implement rationing.

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Lufthansa says it will operate 20,000 short-haul flights from April 21. This will save about 40 thousand tons of fuel. In addition to Lufthansa, airlines such as SAS and KLM have also cut their flights within Europe.

If replacement supply arrangements are not immediately secured, Europe will have only 6 weeks of jet fuel reserves left. In this case flights may have to be canceled on a large scale. Fares could rise and summer travel could be disrupted for millions of commuters. – International Energy Agency

Buying fuel from America is being considered

Recently the European Union Transport Ministers held a meeting through video conference. “We are working to secure alternative jet fuel supplies for Europe,” EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tsitzikostas said. Type-A jet fuel to be produced in the US is being considered. However, Type-A fuel is mainly used in the US. Now there is a discussion going on in Europe that how to use America’s Type-A fuel?

Asia has received a heavy blow

Asia is suffering the loss of Iran war. Jet fuel prices in Asia have risen by 139 percent since the war. Europe is second. An increase of 107 percent has been observed here. North America is the least affected. The prices have increased by about 83 percent. America has gotten worse since the war. In the month of April, it exported jet fuel at a record level.