Travel expert reveals places to avoid for Brits who go on holiday during jet fuel crisis

Important advice for Brits ahead of the holiday season

The immediate impact has been a sharp rerouting of supply, while in order to keep aviation moving, cargoes are travelling record distances as refiners and traders redraw ‌trade maps.

The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, in April made European prices reach a record of above $200 a barrel.

The strait was previously a route for around 400,000 barrels per day of jet fuel exports.

Meanwhile, according to the International Energy Agency, global jet fuel demand is expected to average 7.77 million barrels per day this year.

But will this affect the holidaymakers from Britain this summer?

JOE spoke to Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel magazine, who revealed in detail just what the latest updates mean for British travellers.

The jet fuel crisis and how much fuel there really is

According to Boland, the issue of whether there is or there isn’t enough jet fuel is not actually that simple and there is no single answer.

“It's not that simple when it comes to how much jet fuel there is, that it almost makes you imagine that there's somebody sitting in front of like a fuel tank that's telling you how much is in there, is it empty or is it full?”, Boland said.

Rather, the expert asserts that “airlines have some visibility of their fuel, perhaps six weeks, a couple of months in advance.”

“What's really clear is that European airlines are not running out of fuel. You know, so many have said that at this point, what we're seeing, where you do see those really alarming headlines about cancellations is because of jet fuel prices”, Boland continued.

“So, jet fuel prices have gone up so much that some airlines you'll have seen this with KLM, with Lufthansa, have cancelled really very small number of flights. And the reason they're cancelling those flights is because the cost of running them just isn't profitable anymore”, Boland told JOE.

“Flights where they don't have enough people on them, in particular flights where, for example, they might have five flights from London to Barcelona a day, and they say, well, actually we can make this profitable by instead running for flights and putting those passengers from the fifth flight”.

No jet fuel shortage in Europe

The travel expert advised against travelling if you're worrying if the plane has enough fuel as your holliday will get ruined.

However, he asserted that there is no shortage of jet fuel in Europe, at the time of writing.

“So there isn't really a jet fuel shortage in Europe at the moment. The cancellations that we are seeing are because of the very high cost of buying jet fuel.”

“I mean, the government telling you that everything is fine, me telling you everything is fine. If you're going to go on holiday and get on your sunbed or on the beach, constantly worrying about whether your plane is going to have enough fuel, then of course it doesn't make sense to go. It will just ruin your holiday.”

The good news for Brits? Yes, the summer holidays are still happening, without any notable disruptions.

“But the answer as to whether most holidays will go ahead this summer is absolutely yes”, Boland asserted.

“The vast, vast majority of holidays will take place as scheduled with no disruption. The worst thing that might happen to you is that you may find you’re on a flight that gets consolidated. So that same example, there's for 3 or 4 flights the same day to your destination or back to where you came from.”

Places to avoid as you plan your holidays

If what you have in mind is a long flight somewhere, then there is one type of airport you should avoid, according to the expert.

“It's really difficult to predict what the airlines will do. A couple of things I would say is that in Asia, there is a genuine jet fuel shortage. In some places they're a little bit more exposed. And so, if you are planning to fly long haul, I would avoid going to very small airports, you know, on faraway islands, because that's somewhere where you might get caught out.“

“I'm not saying you're going to be stranded there, as lovely as that may be on some tropical island, but you may find that your flight doesn't come back for an extra day and extra two days. An extra three days. So the risk of disruption in some smaller airports in Asia is a little bit greater. I would say you can probably apply that to some extent in Europe“, Boland told JOE.

“I really don't think that's going to happen in the summer. But as we get into September and October, smaller airports where there's less facility to store large amounts of fuel, perhaps we'll see more disruption there. But my general advice would be don't book your holiday based on where you think there will or won't be cancellations.“

“If you're flying within Europe, you are going to be almost certainly okay in terms of financial protections that what most of us think about immediately is, well, I'm going to run out and make sure I've got myself a fantastic travel insurance policy.“

Travel insurance and holiday cancellations

As per Boland, “it is pretty useless travel insurance when it comes to disruption and cancellations. It's just not what it's designed to do. Which? recently looked at, I think around 160 policies and we don't believe that one of them will actually pay out if you are disrupted by jet fuel shortage. It was very similar when we saw mass disruption for people coming back from Dubai or through Dubai.“

The expert argues that while travel insurance isn't ideal for covering British travellers when it comes to jet fuel shortages, medical care is the area in which it is vital.

“There are all sorts of exclusions and small print in travel insurance that is not helpful in terms of covering you for disruption such as this, including jet fuel shortages. Travel insurance absolutely essential for medical care. You know, if you slip by the pool in Spain and break your arm, get a dose of food poisoning, you are going to want travel insurance for those medical expenses.“

How you can protect your holiday this summer

Perhaps this is the issue that is mostly on your mind right now, when it comes to your bookings and your holiday overall.

There is one thing you can do, according to Boland, and that is a package holiday.

“The very best thing you can do is book a package holiday“, the expert asserted.

This is due to the travel regulations in Britain which will make sure everything is going as smoothly as you had hoped.

“The package travel regulations in the UK are absolutely excellent in terms of making sure you get to your destination and have the holiday that you were promised, and indeed, in the very unlikely event you were to be stranded out there“, Boland said.

The expert's advice: Go ahead with your bookings

“It really important to clear up what can be a bit of a misconception about surcharges. This can only be charged on new bookings so the airline cannot turn around and say, listen, we've been told the jet fuel has gone up a lot. So I know you already booked your flight and paid us £200. £300. We're going to need another 100 pounds just to cover that.“

“Fuel surcharges for European flights are not such a big problem at the moment for this summer. What I would say is that when we get into September, October and into the winter, which are leaner months for airlines, what you may see is certainly more cancellations because there will be fewer people on those aircrafts.”

“I think for the summer probably okay, we won't see lots of new surcharges coming in on short haul flights. I think when you get in to the autumn months, certainly you may see more surcharges or more simply, you may just see airlines putting the price of their flights.”

Asked by JOE whether British travellers should go ahead with their holiday plans, Boland said that “that would be my advice. Go ahead with your bookings.”

“Don't wait to hear what Donald Trump is going to say. Don't wait to hear what Michael O'Leary from Ryanair is going to say. Decide for you. Will you feel comfortable going on holiday? And the truth is, the very vast majority of holidays this summer will go ahead as planned. No disruption, no cancellation. You should feel confident in going, feel confident about coming back.”

There's a bigger problem for British travellers than the jet fuel shortage

According to Boland, a bigger issue that British holidaymakers should know as they plan their bookings isn't the jet fuel crisis.

Rather, it is the Entry/Exit System (EES), which is an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay.

This is done each time they cross the external borders of any of the European countries listed here.

“EES, I would say is a bigger problem than the jet fuel shortage for some destinations for British travellers. And one of the frustrating things about this is it's really difficult to know based on where you're travelling to, where you will encounter these really big queues”, Boland told JOE.

“Now we know the majority. The worst situations are in Spain. So, what happens is you get 4 or 5 planes arriving within the same hour full of British travellers. You know, there's 2 or 3 booths open, you get a massive queue, two, three hours on arrival and people are incredibly, rightfully frustrated. The greater problem is when you're returning.”

“Now, as annoying as it is to stand for a few hours coming into your destination, and you may indeed lose some money through car hire, you know car hire companies can fine you if you don't pick up your vehicle within the allotted slot. But the risk coming home is much greater because if you know you get through and check your bags in and you get through security, you think, well, I'm kind of done.”

“And then suddenly you find this absolutely whopping EES queue, sometimes 2 or 3 hours, and you run the risk of not making your flight. And again, this is really unpredictable. I've seen it in a couple of places in Spain, and I've also heard about it happening in Krakow, it is a really bad place for it. A couple of the Italian airports like Milan, really difficult as well, but it also comes down to the time of day you're travelling, which is a really long winded way of telling you.”

“It is really difficult to predict the sort of difficulty you may get into. The best advice I can give you is to do a little bit of research before you're going, particularly if you think you're going to a destination which is really popular with British travellers, all of Spain, lots of Portuguese destinations, and a couple of city break ones like Krakow of as well. Prague, Budapest I'd be looking at as well”, Boland concluded.

Last month, the government acknowledged that while British airlines are not currently experiencing a shortfall in fuel supplies, authorities in Europe have warned that planes could be grounded.

The Department for Transport (DfT) also advised British travellers to continue with their summer holiday plans, because UK airlines buy their jet fuel in advance and can rely on stockpiles.