Airlines are grappling with soaring jet fuel prices as the US-Israeli war on Iran has caused a supply shortage – leaving consumers facing surcharges and airlines struggling to manage volatile costs as the fuel gets scarcer.
Africa is among the most exposed regions to both supply disruptions and higher prices. Around 70 per cent of jet fuel and kerosene imports to the continent flow via the Strait of Hormuz, according to financial and commodities analytics firm S&P Global.
Since the conflict began in late February, shipping of fuel from refineries in the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz has almost ground to a halt, removing roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies from the market.
“You fly to airports across Southern, West and East Africa and you negotiate prices on arrival,” Jannie de Klerk, executive director of flight operations at South Africa’s National Airways Corporation, a charter business which also includes air ambulance services, told Reuters.
“By the time you get there, the price has changed. If the war continues, availability will become a problem. The instability of (jet fuel) prices makes it very challenging to move around.”
De Klerk cited a recent return flight from Lanseria to Cape Town via St Helena to collect a medical emergency patient, where jet fuel prices jumped by six rand ($0.355) a litre to R24/litre within 10 hours between the outbound and return legs.
“We now have to be very careful of how far ahead you quote for jobs otherwise you can quote short and lose money instead of making money,” he said.
Jet fuel prices in north-west Europe have surged to record highs near $239 a barrel since the conflict began, according to LSEG data. Asian jet fuel prices are approaching $200 a barrel, close to recent records.
African carriers feel those increases more acutely than most. Jet fuel typically accounts for between 30pc to more than 40pc of operating costs, compared with a global average of 20pc to 25pc, according to the African Airlines Association.
South African low-cost carrier FlySafair said in a statement jet fuel usually makes up 50pc to 55pc of its direct operating costs.
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