Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air has encountered some jet fuel shortages at three airports in Italy, its chief executive said Friday, following warnings about supplies because of the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.
“We had problems because of a shortage of jet fuel in three Italian airports — Venice, Brindisi and Catania,” Wizz Air chief Jozsef Varadi told Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
“It was all resolved within a day and in some cases within hours, without having to cancel flights.”
Several Italian airports had signalled limitations on jet fuel supplies earlier this month.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war in Iran is raising the risk of a jet fuel shortage in Europe, just as the big summer travel season is approaching.
Europe normally imports half of its jet fuel from Gulf countries.
“In no other European country, so far, have we experienced a fuel shortage,” Varadi told the paper.
“I think we are currently watching each other (between airlines) to understand how serious the situation might become. Jet fuel has been supplied adequately across Europe, with a minor hiccup in Italy,” Varadi said.
“For the time being, I think the situation in Europe is not that alarming; the problems are more serious in Asia than in Europe,” he said.
“I believe we will overcome this crisis as well and that it will not be too damaging.”
If problems arise at a given airport, the airline plans first to ensure its planes carry enough fuel for another journey, Varadi said.
Only if that is not enough would it consider reducing services at that airport, he said.
“Demand is hesitant” in Europe for the coming weeks, Varadi said, adding: “People are waiting to see what will happen”.
