{"id":2119,"date":"2026-04-30T12:43:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/uk-lccs-rule-out-fuel-surcharges-despite-middle-east-supply-warnings\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T12:43:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:43:45","slug":"uk-lccs-rule-out-fuel-surcharges-despite-middle-east-supply-warnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/uk-lccs-rule-out-fuel-surcharges-despite-middle-east-supply-warnings\/","title":{"rendered":"UK LCCs rule out fuel surcharges despite Middle East supply warnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK\u2019s leading low-cost and leisure carriers have moved to reassure passengers by ruling out the introduction of fuel surcharges, even as the <\/span>International Air Transport Association<\/span><\/a> (IATA) warns of potential fuel rationing and \u201cextraordinarily high\u201d costs following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jet2, easyJet, TUI and Ryanair have all confirmed they will not impose fuel surcharges on summer 2026 bookings, even as IATA warns that the Middle East conflict could trigger Jet A-1 shortages and very high costs. UK authorities have also relaxed slot-use rules so airlines will not lose airport slots if fuel shortages or airspace restrictions force cancellations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the volatility, global demand remains robust. IATA Director General Willie Walsh noted that while the conflict saw a nearly 61% decline in international traffic by Middle Eastern carriers in March, demand elsewhere grew by 8%.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement accompanying the March traffic data, Walsh said: \u201cEverybody\u2019s watching what\u2019s happening with jet fuel \u2014 both supply and pricing. On the supply side, over the next months, we could see shortages in parts of the world with high dependence on supplies from the Gulf, especially Asia and Europe. And the extraordinarily high cost of jet fuel is increasingly being reflected in ticket prices. While this has not impacted March traffic or forward bookings to date, it remains to be seen at what point high prices could start to shift passenger behaviour. So far, the summer is shaping up to be a typical travel season. That\u2019s positive news, but airline resilience is being tested and stabilising the supply and price of fuel is crucial.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In a separate earlier statement, Walsh called on regulators to act on contingency planning. \u201cAlong with doing everything possible to secure alternative supply lines, it\u2019s important that authorities have well-communicated and well-coordinated plans in place in case rationing becomes necessary, including for slot relief,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the low-cost sector, the refusal to surcharge is largely due to aggressive hedging strategies and strict consumer protection laws. Under UK-retained <\/span>EU Regulation (EC) No 1008\/2008<\/span><\/a>, carriers must display the full, all-inclusive price from the start of the booking process, making the retrospective addition of fees to confirmed tickets legally fraught.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jet2 has confirmed it has hedged 87% of its summer fuel requirement at an average of $707 per metric tonne, providing a high degree of cost certainty.<\/span><\/p>\n

EasyJet has hedged approximately 70% of its summer needs at an average of $706 per metric tonne, allowing it to guarantee there will be no surcharges on flights or package holidays.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ryanair has gone further than its peers in its public commitment, with CEO Michael O\u2019Leary guaranteeing \u201cno price increases, no fuel surge levy surcharges, regardless of what happens to summer supply.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

O\u2019Leary has indicated that Ryanair\u2019s strong hedging position may allow it to exert downward pressure on fares, and has revised his forecast for average fares from growth of 4\u20135% to broadly flat year-on-year.<\/span><\/p>\n

UK regulators have already moved on to contingency planning. The Department for Transport confirmed that <\/span>Airport Coordination Limited<\/span><\/a> (ACL), the independent body that manages slot allocation at UK airports, has updated its guidance so that airlines will not lose their slots if fuel shortages prevent them from flying.<\/span><\/p>\n

Airlines can now apply for an exemption from the \u201cuse-it-or-lose-it\u201d rule in these circumstances \u2014 a measure intended to prevent \u201cghost flights\u201d and allow carriers to manage thinning fuel stocks without long-term commercial penalty.<\/span><\/p>\n

The post UK LCCs rule out fuel surcharges despite Middle East supply warnings<\/a> appeared first on Aviation Business News<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The UK\u2019s leading low-cost and leisure carriers have moved to reassure passengers by ruling out the introduction of fuel surcharges, even as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warns of potential fuel rationing and \u201cextraordinarily high\u201d costs following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East. Jet2, easyJet, TUI and Ryanair have all confirmed they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2119\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}