What will diminishing jet fuel inventories mean for the summer air travel peak? ICIS Markets Editor Shruti Salwan and Cirium Air Transport Reporter Jonathan Robins examine the current jet fuel supply shock and how airlines are responding.
Europe’s jet fuel supply is coming under mounting pressure as the loss of key Middle Eastern export flows, falling global refinery runs and depleted regional stocks collide with rising summer travel demand.
With a sharp increase in prices already being felt, airlines are scrambling to respond.
No slack in the system
The loss of supply from the Gulf — the single largest source of internationally traded jet fuel — has created a structural imbalance at a time when global inventories were already under strain.
According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest oil market report, global jet fuel demand averaged 7.8 million barrels/day in 2025, with 2 million barrels/day traded internationally. (....)