Airlines have been warned not to book holidaymakers onto flights that may be cancelled after a slew of offers for cheap deals to Spain, Greece and Portugal were released in a bid to boost bookings.
Airlines are increasingly warning of looming flight cancellations over the peak summer holiday months due to rocketing jet fuel costs caused by conflict in the Middle East, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said.
Anna Bowles, head of consumer protection at the aviation regulator, wrote to airlines to urge them to be “mindful of not offering flights for sale where there is a reasonable expectation that those flights will not operate” in the coming months.
The UK is the largest consumer of jet fuel in Europe with analysts warning it has no strategic reserves and the Gulf crisis has exposed how vulnerable the sector is to supply problems.
However, holidaymakers are being encouraged to continue booking summer travel, with flights to popular European destinations being offered at cheaper rates to boost demand,
Bargain deals to Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy have been offered for less than the cost of a flight in 2025.
Reflecting how serious the issue of dwindling fuel supplies is considered, the Government has watered down sanctions to allow Russian jet fuel and diesel refined in third countries to be imported to the UK to shore up stocks.
There are currently more than 144,600 flights scheduled to depart from the UK during the summer holidays, equating to more than 26 million seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Bowles told carriers to ensure passengers are informed “in a clear and timely way” about the likelihood of flights not operating due to supply constraints.
“We also expect that airlines will typically be able to provide affected passengers with at least 14 days’ notice of such decisions, in which case fixed-sum compensation would not apply,” she wrote.
Under airline travel rules, passengers can receive compensation if they receive less than 14 days’ notice that their flight has been cancelled – unless the carrier can demonstrate axing it was the result of “extraordinary circumstances”.
The CAA warned airlines that cancelling flights for operational or commercial reasons, including fuel prices, would not constitute “extraordinary circumstances”.
It added that airlines could be in breach of consumer law if there are reasonable grounds to believe it wasn’t made clear to passengers that it wasn’t possible to offer flights advertised at a specific price in reasonable quantities.
Eight weeks until peak summer holiday season hits
By Sophie Lam
With just eight weeks until the peak summer holiday season, aviation regulator the CAA has written to airlines urging preparedness for forthcoming flight cancellations caused by the Middle Eastern jet fuel crisis.
There are currently more than 144,600 flights scheduled to depart from the UK during the summer holidays, equating to more than 26 million seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. This represents a 2.5 per cent increase on last summer’s volumes.
Faced with soaring jet fuel prices and the prospect of dwindling availability, airlines have seen regulations eased to allow them to proactively consolidate flights during the peak summer weeks without forfeiting valuable airport slots. As yet, the number of future cancellations is minimal.
Nevertheless, consumer confidence has been shaken, prompting some airlines to slash fares to destinations at times when they typically surge, which also carries a warning from the CAA.
In its letter to the industry, the regulator has asked airlines to be “mindful of not offering flights for sale where there is a reasonable expectation that those flights will not operate,” adding that carriers must make it clear to passengers when there is a likelihood that these flights will not operate.
The letter also reminds airlines that where flight cancellations are unavoidable, passengers should be given “as much notice as possible”, and that they should be fully aware of their consumer rights. The message: act now to avoid chaos and ill-will.
The Strait of Hormuz, the waterway which around a fifth of global oil flows through, remains effectively shut to shipping due to blockades by Iran and the US.
More than half of Europe’s jet fuel comes through the key waterway, leading to soaring prices for scarce alternative supplies.
The Government eased sanctions on Russian crude oil on Wednesday, allowing the import of jet fuel from third countries “indefinitely”, sparking anger from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch who branded the relaxation “insane”.
The sanctions carve-out will be periodically reviewed as fuel prices rise due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Government had previously announced the UK would block Russian oil refined in other countries in a bid to “further restrict the flow of funds to the Kremlin”.
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