Jet fuel shortage could hurt summer travel

The 2026 summer travel season could be full of headaches.

“Supply and demand are the undefeated champions of business and economics,” CNN Business’ David Goldman said.

Jet fuel prices have rocketed upwards since military action against Iran began, and travelers are going to be picking up part of the tab.

“This is a dire situation for airlines if they don’t cut flights and raise prices for fliers,” Goldman said.

The International Energy Agency says Europe has roughly six weeks of jet fuel on hand, and officials say if oil supplies remain stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, some planes could be grounded.

“The price of jet fuel is up north of 40% since this war started and airlines are starting to cut flights,” Chief Market Strategist at B. Riley Financial Art Hogan said.

The ripple effect could also produce other travel-related problems.

“Routes that are going between two cities that aren’t necessarily hubs, you might have to go around, get inconvenienced,” Goldman said. “You might have fewer nonstop flights and more delays as well.”

Analysts say it may be a while before things return to normal.

“Once the straits open up, it takes time to unclog the 800 tankers that are there, get them to the places they need to be and get the refineries back open and processing all the fuel” Hogan said.