Travel agents across Ireland are reporting an increase in the number of people contacting them with “worries about their holiday plans” amid warnings of a shortage of jet fuel.
While there was some reassurance today with the announcement that the Strait of Hormuz was reopening, aviation experts say fuel supplies will take a considerable amount of time to recover.
Chief Executive of the Irish Travel Agents Association Claire Dunne, who has worked in travel for over three decades, has seen how geopolitical events can impact holiday plans and also the contingency measures that are often put in place.
She said travel disruption is not uncommon. However, this issue over jet fuel supplies comes ahead of what is typically the busiest time of year for air travel.
She said that travel agents remain busy with customers booking short and long-haul holidays, but they are, in many cases, choosing different routes or destinations, because of the the conflict in the Middle East.
Claire Dunne said jet fuel supply issues comes ahead of the busiest time of year for air travel
Ms Dunne does not predict widespread cancellations if fuel supplies run low but instead explained how airlines are likely to consolidate flights.
She said: “There is a lot of anxiety around but flights are still operating. We still don’t know what is going to happen. There is still jet fuel.
“If airlines do have a shortage of jet fuel it is likely they will consolidate flights, it is not that they will cancel routes, particularly busy routes.
“So if they have multiple flights in the day or the week, it is likely they will reduce the schedule and that is much more likely to happen than they just cancel flights.”
Ms Dunne said now is a good time to book because if airlines start to consolidate flights then availability will be less than it is now and demand will mean prices will go up.
“I don’t think prices are going to go down. It is unlikely,” she added.
‘Holidays not a priority’ during fuel crisis
Passengers have already been facing higher fares with some airlines already passing the cost of higher fuel on to customers.
While travel agents say there is no obvious decrease in bookings, the uncertainty around this fuel crisis has led some people to reconsider their holiday plans this summer.
In Dublin city today some people said they were making “a conscious decision” not to travel abroad with one woman stating “holidays are not a priority” during a fuel crisis.
Another person who had booked a trip to China said it may now be in “jeopardy” and that he may be swapping his trip to Asia for west Cork.
Uncertainty around this fuel crisis has led some people to reconsider their holiday plans
The view of another woman was that it was an easier decision to staycation in light of what was happening globally.
“With the price of fuel, it does impact us so we are not going away as often. We are staying in Ireland now,” she said.
As an island nation, Ireland is significantly exposed to jet fuel supply shortages, according to aviation expert Anita Mendiratta.
She said that airlines and airports are currently working on measures to mitigate the crisis, adding that hedging and careful management will allow Europe to manage fuel prices up “until the end of summer into the fall”.
“Airlines are looking at their schedules very carefully to see where can they thin them out a little bit, pull back on capacity, allow the demand to stay there, but shift it around to certain schedule points and certain destinations, but also using certain aircraft that are much more fuel efficient,” she said.
Some 90% of visitors coming to Ireland by air annually.
KLM announced on yesterday it will be cutting 80 of its European flights to and from Schiphol due to a spike in the price of kerosene.
There are no indications that Ryanair and Aer Lingus will have to take similar measures but Aer Lingus has announced it is cutting back its summer schedule for maintenance.
It is also difficult to predict the impact that this fuel crisis will have on international tourism with 90% of visitors coming here by air annually.
In light of the uncertainty facing the aviation sector, the advice for anyone travelling or planning to book a flight is to be familiar with their rights and protections.
Hotels ‘under no obligation’ to refund or change booking
Director of Communications at the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Grainne Griffin said what people need to think about is “what they will do if something goes wrong”.
She said: “So there is a really clear protection around flights and if flights are cancelled.
“But in many cases consumers have done a range of other bookings, there might be hotels, concerts, theme parks, all sorts of things and you need to look at the individual terms and conditions to know what you are entitled to.”
Grainne Griffin said insurance is critical if you are booking a holiday
She said insurance is critical if you are booking a holiday yourself and to protect you “if something goes wrong”.
“If you book a package holiday it does come with additional protections. And if the flights is cancelled there is an onus on the travel operator to provide you with a refund or a replacement holiday. So certainly there are advantages,” she said.
Ms Griffin warned that hotels on the other hand are “under no obligation” to refund customers or change a booking as a result of flights being changed or cancelled so people should scrutinise the terms and condition of the accommodation booking.
“It will all come down to the fine print of that contract or the terms of your travel insurance if you have to rely on that instead,” she added.
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For more information on travel customer rights visit www.ccpc.ie or on www.iaa.ie