<div id="readability-page-1">  <p><time datetime="2026-05-07T08:49:13+01:00">    Thursday 07 May 2026 8:49 am  </time></p>         <div>                                                                                                                 Add as a preferred        source on Google                        </div>    <figure>    <div>       </div> <img width="742" height="495" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EasyJet-plane-landing.jpg/query-dz03NDI?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EasyJet-plane-landing.jpg/query-dz03NDI"/>  <figcaption>The UK has been warned it is &#34;most exposed&#34; to jet fuel shortages</figcaption> </figure> <p>The global jet fuel shortage caused by the Iran war has caused a bigger crisis for airlines than the Covid-19 pandemic, the chief of AirAsia has warned.</p><p>Tony Fernandes, chief executive of AirAsia, said: “I thought I’d seen it all with Covid […] but having seen jet fuel go up almost three times — this is much worse.”</p><p>Jet fuel supplies have fallen to their lowest level since records began as the Iran war wreaks havoc on fuel shipping lanes. </p><p>“You wake up one day and your major cost has tripled — it was quite a new experience for me and I’ve been through a lot in my life,” Fernandes told the Financial Times.</p><p>This comes as US budget airline Spirit collapsed earlier this week, with Fernandes warning that other low-cost operators could follow suit.</p><h2 id="h-gulf-capacity-taken-out">‘Gulf capacity taken out’</h2><p>But the airline boss said Asian operators are seeing a boost from the conflict: “The most important thing is that demand has not dropped in Asia.</p><p>“If anything, geopolitics is causing more Asians to stay in our part of the world as opposed to venturing outside. </p><p>“The Gulf capacity has been taken out and there is a massive increase in price to Europe, which has driven more traffic to our side.”</p><p>AirAsia has sold 50,000 tickets for flights to Kuala Lumpur to London via Bahrain in June. </p><p>Fernandes said the airline said it is no longer promoting these flights but is committed to its use of Bahrain as a stop-off hub.</p><p>“Unless there’s another war, Bahrain still is very much in our plans, and we’re very committed to it,” he said.</p><h2 id="h-uk-most-exposed-to-fuel-shortage">UK ‘most exposed’ to fuel shortage</h2><p>As many as two million seats have been lost due to the cancellation of 13,000 flights in May as a result of the conflict, it emerged earlier this week.</p><p>Airports in Istanbul, Turkey, and Munich, Germany, have seen the steepest drop-off in air traffic.</p><p>German airline Lufthansa has cut 20,000 short-haul flights, and Irish firm Aer Lingus has pulled hundreds of trips from its summer schedule.</p><p>The UK economy is the most “structurally exposed” to jet fuel shortages, according to researchers at Allianz Trade.</p><p>Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has loosened “use it or lose it” rules in a bid to soften the pressures facing airlines, and is talking up staycations in a bid to manage expectations if Brits see their summer holidays cancelled.</p><p>The “use it or lose it” rules dictate that airlines’ slots at airports must be in use for a certain amount of time to retain their right to use the space.</p> </div>

<p>根据亚航首席执行官托尼·费尔南德斯的说法，全球喷气燃料短缺因伊朗战争而加剧，正导致航空公司面临比新冠疫情更严重的危机。喷气燃料价格已上涨三倍，导致大量航班取消和运营挑战。英国尤其脆弱，由于 5 月份的 13,000 个航班取消，损失了 200 万个座位。尽管如此，亚洲航空公司却看到需求增加，因为旅客更倾向于选择近距离旅行。英国政府正在放宽监管，以帮助航空公司应对危机</p>

Jet fuel crisis worse than Covid for airlines, says AirAsia chief

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Air Partner plc

亚航首席执行官表示，航空燃油危机对航空公司的影响比新冠疫情更为严重