The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 5th that European jet fuel prices have surged to a record high for the first time in nearly four years due to the fallout from the Iran war, and major Middle Eastern airports are experiencing flight disruptions because of fuel shortages.
According to UK commodities information provider Argus, Northwest Europe jet fuel prices rose 12% from the previous session to $1,416 per ton on the day, the highest level since June 2022. The weekly gain reached 71%.
The price spread between European jet fuel and Brent widened to $97 per barrel, an all-time high. In Asia, the jet fuel premium to Brent, which was $20–$25 before the war, at one point soared to $200 before recently easing to around $80.
Jun Go, an oil market analyst at energy analytics firm Sparta, told the FT it was "total chaos," adding, "A completely different dimension has hit the market."
The surge in prices is seen as stemming from a sharp drop in jet fuel shipments out of the Middle East due to the Iran war. As fuel shortages deepen, major airports in the Middle East are also seeing continued flight disruptions.
Muscat International Airport in Oman, crowded with people trying to leave the Middle East, is also facing fuel shortages, causing multiple flight delays, sources told the FT.
Charles Robinson of private aircraft platform EnterJet said that due to refueling delays, some jet operators are stopping in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, or Cairo, Egypt, en route to their destinations to take on fuel in order to keep to their schedules.
Another charter operator is said to have shifted its operations hub to Riyadh because of airport congestion and difficulty securing fuel.
The first charter flight the UK government tried to launch on the night of the 4th to bring its nationals home from the Middle East also ran into trouble. According to the BBC, the flight did not depart as scheduled due to "technical issues" and did not take off until the afternoon of the 5th.