The boss of Ryanair has told said that as many as one in ten of its flights could be cancelled if the war in Iran continues, as ITV News Economics Editor Joel Hills reports
Ryanair may need to cancel 10% of its flights in the early summer, its CEO has warned, if the Iran war continued to impact jet fuel prices.
“We’re all facing an unknown scenario,” Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary told ITV News on Thursday.
“And we are certainly looking at maybe having to cancel 5%, 10% of flights through May, June and July.
O’Leary added that the message from the airline industry is “the sooner this war is over the better”.
He said that the UK was most vulnerable country in Europe when it comes to rising jet fuel prices “because of the market share that the Kuwaitis have here”.
His comments came as regional airline Skybus announced its flights between Cornwall Airport Newquay and London Gatwick would be abruptly cancelled starting from April 2, due to “circumstances beyond our control”.
Customers expecting to travel in April and May are being contacted by the airline, and will receive a full refund, the airline said.
Managing director Jonathan Hinkles blamed the “huge rise in the cost of fuel following the war in the Gulf” as well as a drop in passenger bookings.
“At a time of great economic uncertainty and steps being taken to conserve energy worldwide, it is neither environmentally nor economically sound for us to continue flying with vastly reduced passenger numbers,” Hinkles said.
Guernsey airline Aurigny said last week it would be reducing flights between the island and London City airport between mid-April and early June, as well as combining services to and from South-West England between Exeter and Bristol.
Most of the airline’s Wednesday flights to and from Paris, in France, have also been put back until June, it said.
The airline is also adding a temporary fuel adjustment surcharge of £2 on all bookings made from March 20 onwards.
“With no immediate end to the regional conflict in the Middle East in sight, aviation fuel prices have also increased considerably and show continued extreme daily fluctuations,” a spokesperson for Aurigny said.
Customers affected by the changes are being contacted directly by the airline.
“While a small island community, we are not immune to the realities presented by the global travel ecosystem,” Philip Saunders, Aurigny’s chief commercial officer said.
“Current global events are impacting consumer confidence and changing travel behaviours. Furthermore, significant increases in global oil prices are now filtering through to aviation.
“Unfortunately, we have to pass on some of the resulting costs to customers to ensure sustainable air services to and from Guernsey.”
Saunders said the airline hoped to welcome back UK holidaymakers from July onwards.
No British airlines have cancelled flights as of yet. British Airways told ITV News: “UK airlines are currently not seeing disruption to jet fuel supply and continue to engage with fuel suppliers and government to monitor the situation.”
The Iran war has had a global impact on fuel and energy prices as the Strait of Hormuz – a major waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil travels – remains largely shut.
The price of Brent crude oil, the world’s benchmark, has soared to higher than $100 a barrel during the war for the first time since 2022.
Multiple other countries have already seen flight cancellations due to the war, with Air New Zealand announcing on March 12 it was axing 1,100 flights until early May over jet fuel prices.
Vietnamese airlines have cut flights on domestic and international routes, and some regional routes across Australia are not being flown.
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