Spain jet fuel crisis: Legal rights if your flight gets axed this summer

WITH the Strait of Hormuz blockade triggering a massive jet fuel shortage across Europe, anyone planning to travel between Spain and the UK might be looking at their summer travel plans with dread.

Some airlines are already feeling the squeeze.

The Lufthansa Group has confirmed it is cancelling 20,000 short-haul flights through October 2026, while Ryanair, KLM, and SAS are all trimming their summer schedules.

But travellers are reminded that a cancelled flight does not mean you have to end up stranded or out of pocket.

Whether you are flying out of Malaga, Alicante, or Palma, here is exactly what you are legally entitled to under EU261 (and its British equivalent, UK261) if your flight falls victim to the 2026 fuel crisis.

The golden rule: Refund or reroute

If your flight is cancelled, the airline is legally obligated to offer you a choice:

A full refund of your ticket.
A replacement flight to your final destination at the earliest opportunity.

The ‘rival airline’ loophole

Airlines will usually try to book you onto their next available flight.

However, if they tell you the next available flight is in three days, you do not have to accept it.

The law states they must get you there at the earliest opportunity.

If that means buying you a ticket on a rival airline – or even putting you on a train – they must do it, and it must cost you nothing.

The ‘Duty of Care’

If you are delayed heavily or bumped to a flight the next day, the airline’s ‘Duty of Care’ kicks in automatically. They must provide you with:

Meals and refreshments proportionate to your waiting time.
Hotel accommodation if you are stuck overnight.
Transport between the airport and the hotel.

Do not pay out of pocket if you can avoid it. Make the airline arrange it. If staff are nowhere to be found and you must pay for a budget hotel yourself, keep every single receipt to claim it back.

The bad news: Compensation

Usually, if an airline cancels your flight less than 14 days before departure, you are entitled to cash compensation of between €250 and €600 (up to £520).

However, there is a catch. Airlines do not have to pay this if the cancellation is caused by ‘extraordinary circumstances’ outside of their control.

A global or regional jet fuel shortage caused by geopolitical blockades falls firmly into this category.

Therefore, while you will get your new flight and your hotel paid for, do not expect a €400 payment on top for the inconvenience.

How to protect yourself this summer

Do not cancel preemptively: If you panic and cancel your flight voluntarily, you lose all rights to a refund or a free rebooking. Sit tight and let the airline make the first move.
Pay with a credit card: If the airline drags its heels on a refund, a credit card chargeback is a powerful tool to get your money back quickly.
Check your insurance: Ensure your travel insurance explicitly covers disruptions, missed connections, or consequential losses stemming from the fuel crisis.

Click here to read more Olive Press Travel News from The Olive Press.

Tags:

Walter Finch, is the Digital Editor of the Olive Press and occasional roaming photographer who started out at the Daily Mail.
Born in London but having lived in six countries, he is well-travelled and worldly. He studied Philosophy at the University of Birmingham and earned his NCTJ diploma in journalism from London's renowned News Associates during the Covid era.
He got his first break working on the Foreign News desk of the Daily Mail's online arm, where he also helped out on the video desk due to previous experience as a camera operator and filmmaker.
He then decided to escape the confines of London and returned to Spain in 2022, having previously lived in Barcelona for many years.