Safety Guidance May Prompt Shift in Fuel Tankering Rules

EASA is preparing guidance on how jet-A and jet-A1can be combined as European aircraft operators come to terms with fuel supply shortages caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Europe’s aviation safety regulator confirmed today that it is consulting with member states on the contents of a safety information bulletin.

According to industry sources, Eurocontrol has also prepared a set of contingency measures intended to save scarce fuel. These could include reducing aircraft speeds, endorsing single-engine taxiing at airports, and continuous descent flight paths. At press time, the air traffic control agency had not responded to AIN’s request to confirm the plans.

The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and other air transport groups have been urging the European Commission to suspend aspects of its ReFuelEU decarbonization policy, such as requirements for operators to source most of their fuel at European Union airports when flying within and out of the continent.

The EC has so far ignored calls to relax the anti-tankering rules and has sought to play down concerns about fuel shortages by arguing that its mandates for 90-day reserves will prove sufficient. However, according to an EBAA spokesman, the safety-based guidance from EASA and Eurocontrol could “open a door” to some concessions by giving officials a way to avoid abandoning the policy on principle.

Meanwhile, European governments are scrambling to arrange alternative sources of jet fuel as supplies from the Middle East run short. These efforts include turning to other suppliers in locations such as the U.S. and Africa, while home-based refineries are being urged to prioritize production of jet fuel.

The European Commission requires member states to maintain a 90-day reserve oil supply. However, the rules do not specify how much of this reserve should consist of specific fuel types, so there could be significant variations in the jet-A stocks around the continent. Last month, the International Energy Agency warned that Europe could face chronic jet fuel shortages by the end of May, and the International Air Transport Association has made the same forecast.

Despite indications from the U.S. on Wednesday that its standoff with Iran over access to the Strait of Hormuz could soon be resolved—albeit almost a month since a ceasefire was agreed—aircraft fuel prices remain very high. This has exposed airlines and other operators to extreme cost pressure, with scheduled operators this week confirming the cancellations of thousands more flights on the grounds that they are not commercially viable.

In late April, the European Commission issued its Accelerate EU policy, which established a “fuel observatory” to track jet fuel stocks across member states. It also said that it would issue guidance on flexibility over airport slot rules to help airlines forced to suspend services. On May 3, the UK government announced its own plan to avoid penalizing carriers who have to relinquish slots.

While Europe’s aviation sector appears to be the most exposed to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, aircraft operators in the Asia-Pacific region are also struggling with greatly inflated fuel prices. Government-imposed fuel rationing has begun in countries such as Vietnam.

Risk management group Dyami Security Intelligence has warned that the situation could become more acute as “three demand peaks are now converging.” These are the peak European travel season, the Hajj airlift of more than 3 million pilgrims to Muslim religious sites in Saudi Arabia, and the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. In a bulletin issued on Monday, Dyami pointed out that neither FIFA nor the World Cup host governments have issued a public jet fuel security plan for the event.