Airlines must continue to reimburse passengers for flight cancellations caused by high energy prices, the EU’s transport chief has warned, rejecting claims of jet fuel shortages in Europe.
EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas told the FT that cancellations driven by fuel prices were not considered extraordinary circumstances, meaning airlines must still compensate passengers. He said the rising cost of kerosene was part of doing business in this sector.
The Greek commissioner also claimed Europe “can sustain jet fuel supplies for a long period”, despite warnings from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and fellow EU commissioners that airlines would soon run out of kerosene.
“The price of jet fuel is the reason why we have cancellations of flights and if they cancel flights without extraordinary circumstances – jet fuel prices are not extraordinary circumstances – they will have to reimburse the people,” he said.
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Airlines were cancelling flights that “didn’t make much financial sense and now with the doubling of the prices, they make absolutely no sense for the companies”, Tzitzikostas added.
Several airlines have cut two million seats from their May schedule within the past two weeks. IEA director Fatih Birol last month warned the Continent had just six weeks of supplies left and EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen also raised concerns about a supply crisis.
Tzitzikostas admitted the “situation is tight” and stressed he was not living “on another planet” but argued that EU rules were flexible enough for the current predicament.
Brussels would only consider changing them if the situation seriously deteriorated, Tzitzikostas said, without spelling out exactly how much worse the crisis would have to get for that to happen.
The commissioner, who also oversees the EU tourism portfolio, urged caution over alarmist messaging: “We have a tourist season ahead of us. We need to be careful with words we use and avoid causing panic.”
To address industry concerns, the European Commission will set out new guidelines this week for airlines and passengers in the wake of the Middle East war. The draft guidelines seen by the FT clarify existing rules rather than making new concessions to alleviate the industry’s woes.
“Managing the risk of high fuel costs is a normal part of an airline’s business,” reads the document, which remains subject to change.
Tzitzikostas said that Europe still had emergency stocks and had set up means to more closely monitor jet fuel supplies and co-ordinate between member states to release them “in an orderly manner” if needed.
Airlines will be reminded that they can use Jet A, a fuel predominantly used in the US, in efforts to reduce reliance on fuel coming from the Gulf.
Requirements for airlines to use their allocated take-off and landing slots will be maintained, which means operators that cancel flights due to high prices risk losing their slots.
The EU transport commissioner, who hails from the tourism hub of Thessaloniki, said he expected the impact on tourism in Europe would be limited.
While the number of travellers coming from the Middle East, or travelling to Europe via the Middle East, was declining, Tzitzikostas said intra-European tourism would compensate for this loss from other parts of the world.
“Some countries could not be hit at all,” he said, pointing in particular to “European southern countries who have this product that many people are looking for in the summer”. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
