Airlines will be allowed to group passengers from different flights onto fewer planes to tackle shortages on jet fuel, the Department of Transport has said.
The temporary rule change will allow airline carriers to consolidate flights on routes where there are multiple trips to the same destination on the same day.
Passengers could therefore find themselves moved from their original flights to other carriers to avoid planes flying half-empty, or the journey being cancelled altogether.
The measure is intended to give passengers “greater confidence” in travelling abroad, by helping airlines to lock in their schedules earlier, the DfT said.
“There are no immediate supply issues, but we’re preparing now to give families long-term certainty and avoid unnecessary disruption at the departure gate this summer,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.
“This legislation will give airlines the tools to adjust flights in good time if they need to, which helps protect passengers and businesses.”
Airlines will also be able to cancel their flights weeks in advance, without losing take off and landing slots at busy airports, the DfT said.
The plan has drawn some criticism from the Conservatives and consumer group Which?, who said rules already exist to allow airlines to move customers to new flights, so long as they give them more than 14 days’ notice.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, called for the government to ensure passengers’ rights are not weakened by the temporary changes.
“It’s only for cancellations within 14 days that compensation is payable, rightly. It’s not fair for the rules to now be bent in favour of airlines and potentially leave passengers holding the bill,” Boland said.
“Many passengers will understand that disruptions can occur and may be happy to travel a few hours or a day later, but for those on short trips or connecting flights it could mean the trip is no longer worthwhile.
“Before any changes are made, passengers need cast-iron assurances that their rights will not be weakened and that airlines cannot use reform as cover to shift the cost of disruption on to travellers.”
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden criticised the move, stating that families could find themselves “herded on to a different plane, at a time of the airline’s choosing” under the plan.
“The honest message is that Britain is exposed to fuel supply risks that a properly energy-secure country would not face,” Holden said.
Airlines in the UK have said they are not currently facing issues with fuel supply, but this could change in a matter of weeks as the US-Israel war in Iran continues.
The Strait of Hormuz, an essential waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil typically passes, has been almost entirely closed since the war in Iran began, and is being blocked by both sides.
Around 65% of the jet fuel used in the UK is imported, with a significant portion coming from the Middle East.
In April, the International Energy Agency said Europe had “maybe six weeks” of jet fuel left and warned of future flight cancellations.
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