JUST weeks after European officials and Spanish oil companies issued warnings of a jet fuel shortage, one budget airline has ensured summer flights will not be affected.
Industry analysts have claimed that a disruption in jet fuel supply due to the Iran conflict would quickly affect airlines starting in late spring.
The issue is projected to increase the risk of delays, cancellations, and higher fares on key routes.
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen has backed this warning, stating that even in an optimistic scenario, refined fuel markets such as jet fuel could take months to stabilise, even if tensions involving Iran were to ease immediately.
However, Wizz Air negates these claims.
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According to The Independent, Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi isn’t worried about the possibility of aviation fuel petering out.
Instead of European airports experiencing a loss at the same time, Varadi predicts the next few months will feel similar to COVID, with each location managing the situation differently.
‘I don’t think that everyone is just waiting and seeing what’s going to happen: whether we are lucky or not we’re going to go to the church to pray for jet fuel,’ Varadi said.
The Hungarian airline exec also pointed out the current price of fuel, which has doubled and reached $1,500 per metric tonne.
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Varadi believes this will simply cause a call for airlines to be more innovative.
One suggestion is the solution of ‘tankering,’ which is when an airplane travels to a new location with enough fuel for the returning trip.
‘Maybe at one end of the road you don’t have jet fuel, but you may backfill it from the other end,’ Varadi explained to journalists with The Independent.
However, this practice is commonly penalised by the EU due to an increase of fuel being burned in one go.
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Another potential outcome is utilising other fuel suppliers, with Wizz Air pointing out that jet fuel may be acquired from multiple places.
On the other hand, competing low-cost carriers like Ryanair and easyJet have projected a limitation of fuel supplies entering the peak summer travel season.
These statements come several months after Wizz Air announced an increase in its Spanish network.
In early January, the airline released plans for two new connections in Spain: one from Santander to Tirana, Albania and the other from Menorca to Budapest, Hungary.
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The budget airline currently holds more than 130 routes to 31 different places from Spain, spanning across 16 countries.
There were 44,000 reported flights in and out of Spain from Wizz Air during 2025, carrying nearly 10 million passengers.
Certain airlines have already felt the pressure from the recent fuel shortages.
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.
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Varadi concluded with his expectation of high prices of fuel: ‘You will see a flood of capacity taken out of the market in September and October.’
Travellers who are concerned about their summer flights getting cancelled can read about their legal rights here.
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