The airline industry is in the grip of its worst crisis since the pandemic, as the Middle East war has grounded flights, wiped more than $50bn off the value of the world’s biggest carriers and even raised the spectre of fuel shortages.
As the conflict headed into a fourth week, executives sounded the alarm on its repercussions for an industry exposed to a prolonged increase in oil prices, disruption to the Gulf’s hub airports and a potential hit to global demand.
Passengers on routes far beyond the Gulf are set to face a steep increase in ticket prices in coming months as airlines attempt to shield their profits. Jet fuel, which accounts for a third of airlines’ costs, has doubled since the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran last month and is still rising.