Airlines across Asia are cutting flights, carrying extra fuel from home airports
and adding refuelling stops as the Middle East conflict squeezes
jet fuel supply in some countries, adding to pressure on an
industry already hit by a sharp jump in fuel costs.
European carriers are bracing for similar disruption after
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz cut off nearly 21% of
global seaborne jet fuel supply, according to Kpler.
Previous oil shocks mainly drove up prices, but this one is
also constraining physical supply, forcing governments, airlines
and airports to consider rationing.
“In my conversation with airlines, they are very concerned
about what the future looks like, because we do not know when
the war will end and we don’t know when the supply chain, the
feedstock, will come from the Gulf area,” said Shukor Yusof,
founder of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics.
Asia, Europe and Africa are most exposed, analysts say,
because the U.S. has ample domestic supplies.
Within Asia, the pain has so far been sharpest in
lower-income, import-dependent markets such as Vietnam, Myanmar
and Pakistan after China and Thailand halted jet fuel exports
and South Korea capped them at last year’s levels.
Budget airline AirAsia X is now loading extra fuel
in Malaysia before flying to Vietnamese airports, CEO Bo Lingam
told reporters on Monday.
“Not to say that they are not giving us fuel, but they limit
the amount of fuel,” he said of Vietnam.
JET FUEL RATIONING
Past temporary jet fuel shortages at airports due to
shipment disruptions or contamination have usually led to
rationing rather than complete outages.
Airlines have typically responded by loading extra fuel at
home airports, adding refuelling stops on longer routes or
carrying less cargo.
For a more prolonged crisis, another solution is cutting
flights, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said last week when he
expressed concerns the Middle Eastern conflict may not end this
month.
“If there’s a risk to 10% or 20% of the fuel supply in June
or July or August, then we and other airlines will have to start
looking at cancelling some flights or taking some capacity out,”
he told reporters.
Asia, which has a thinner supply cushion than Europe and is
more dependent on Hormuz flows, has been hit more quickly.
Vietnam Airlines has cut 23 domestic flights per
week to conserve fuel, according to the country’s aviation
authority.
Airlines based in Myanmar suspended domestic flights for
part of March due to jet fuel shortages, its transport ministry
said, and some of its carriers have also cut capacity in April,
according to aviation data provider Cirium.
Air India is making refuelling stops in Kolkata on its
return from Yangon to Delhi due to fuel shortages at Yangon
airport, according to a source familiar with the matter.
In the South Pacific, Tahiti International Airport has
restricted refuelling for international flights to quantities
essential for flight operations due to the Middle Eastern
crisis, a notice to pilots shows.
In Pakistan, pilots are being advised to carry maximum fuel
from abroad.
That practice, known as “tankering”, is costly because
carrying extra fuel increases fuel burn.
“Some countries are in better shape than others,” said
Brendan Sobie, a Singapore-based independent aviation analyst.
“Some may be limiting (fuel for) foreign airlines, which then
leads to the tankering. This could be proactive as some
countries fear they could run out.”
DEMAND DESTRUCTION
A more than doubling of jet fuel prices since the start of
the Iran war has pushed some airlines to cut capacity, while
others have hiked fares and imposed fuel surcharges.
In one of the starkest examples, Batik Air Malaysia has
slashed domestic capacity by 36%, with CEO Chandran Rama Muthy
describing the cuts as a necessary and proactive response to a
“crisis-mode” environment.
“If we were to continue operating without making
adjustments, it could further expose the company to operational
and financial risk,” he said.
Gulf carriers such as Emirates and Qatar Airways have been
operating well below normal capacity due to the conflict, while
other global airlines have also cut flights as fare increases
needed to cover fuel costs deter price-sensitive travellers.
Even with flight cuts, airline demand is not falling fast
enough to match the drop in jet fuel supply, analysts said.
At least 400,000 barrels per day of jet fuel that normally
is produced in the Asia-Pacific region via crude that transits
the Strait of Hormuz have been affected since the crisis
started, according to Reuters’ calculations.
“There is no easy way to replace the lost volumes,
especially as Asian supply will start to tighten as refiners cut
runs,” said Alex Yap, senior oil products analyst at Energy
Aspects.
Industry sources estimate flight cancellations have lowered
April demand in Asia specifically by only about 50,000 to
100,000 barrels per day, suggesting deeper cuts may be needed.
“We’re only just at the start of that cycle (of flight cuts)
as demand from passengers seems to be resilient, but I think any
oil-spike induced economic slowdown could hit demand in the
second half of the year,” said Cirium’s Asia editor, Ellis
Taylor.
(Reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong and Trixie Yap in
Singapore; Additional reporting by Danial Azhar in Kuala Lumpur,
Sam Tabahriti in London and Abhijith Ganapavaram in New Delhi;
Editing by Jamie Freed)
Published on April 7, 2026
