British Airways owner 'confident' on jet fuel supply 'throughout summer'

The owner of British Airways has said it does not expect its services across main markets to be affected by the threat of jet fuel shortages "throughout the summer", as supplies are squeezed by the effects of the US-Iran war.

International Airlines Group (IAG), which also includes Iberia and Aer Lingus among its stable of brands, said in a trading update that the strength of its supply chain and inventories meant it was well placed to avert turbulence facing the industry.

But the company added: "If the current conflict continues to restrict flows of both crude oil and jet fuel from the Middle East, there is the potential for supplies of jet fuel to be restricted on a global basis.

"We are engaging with governments in each of our home markets as well as with the EU to ensure that the industry is getting the support it needs to navigate this situation."

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IAG gave its update as the industry grapples not only higher jet fuel prices - for which the company said it was 70% hedged for the rest of 2026 - but also flight disruption arising from the Middle East conflict.

The effective closure of the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route by Iran has stripped the world of not only a fifth of its usual oil and natural gas supplies but also sizeable volumes of refined products, including jet fuel.

It was revealed earlier this week that airlines were cutting 13,000 flights in response to the growing crisis.

The UK government, in a bid to preserve fuel stocks, is allowing airlines to cancel flights in advance and to book passengers across rival carriers to ensure aircraft are full.

Ministers insist there is currently no issue with supply though a recent report suggested the UK was the country most exposed in Europe to a supply squeeze, citing a lack of storage capacity and collapse in domestic production that has forced a reliance on imports.

IAG said on Friday it now expected its annual fuel bill to come in at €9bn (£7.8bn). That was €2bn (£1.7bn) higher than earlier estimates.

The group said it expected to recover around 60% of the rise through revenue and cost management actions,

It had previously warned last month that ticket prices would go up to offset some of the additional spend.

The company lowered its profit expectations for the full year and said capacity growth would come in lower than the 3% previously forecast.

Shares fell 4.5% at the open.

Chief executive Luis Gallego told investors: "We are pleased to report a strong first quarter, in which revenue grew by 1.9% and profit grew by 77.3% to €351m, reflecting continued strong demand for our networks and airline brands."

He said of the war: "We are actively managing the uncertainty created by the fuel price increase and its impact, taking the necessary action on yields, costs and capacity. We currently see no issues with fuel availability in our main markets, particularly as we benefit from our investment in fuel self-supply at our hubs.

"Whilst the impact of the higher fuel price will inevitably lead to lower profit this year than we originally anticipated, we are confident in our business model and strategy, which has made us one of the best-performing airline groups in the world, and which gives us the opportunity to prove our resilience. This confidence means we are on track to continue with the remaining €1bn return of excess cash."

(c) Sky News 2026: British Airways owner 'confident' on jet fuel supply 'throughout summer'