A worker fueling a Delta plane at Salt Lake City International Airport on April 9, 2026, illustrates how the war in Iran has pushed jet fuel costs sharply higher. As prices climb, airlines worldwide are canceling flights, trimming routes, adding fuel surcharges and hiking baggage and other fees.
Jet fuel prices have roughly doubled since the conflict began — a jump steeper than recent moves in gasoline and diesel. Carriers are reacting quickly to the squeeze: cutting capacity, passing costs to travelers and, where possible, adjusting operations to limit losses.
Asia is feeling the strain most acutely. Several countries have begun rationing fuel and restricting exports to manage shortfalls, a situation George Shaw of trade analytics firm Kpler calls “an Asian crisis.” In Europe, Airports Council International Europe warned the European Commission that if significant and stable passage through the Strait of Hormuz does not resume by the end of April, a systemic jet fuel shortage could become reality for the EU, though some analysts say such shortages might not materialize that fast.
The disruption affects jet fuel in two linked ways. Many Persian Gulf refineries produce finished jet fuel that is exported worldwide; interruptions block those deliveries. At the same time, crude oil from the Gulf — the feedstock for refineries in Asia and elsewhere — is also being impeded. That combination of blocked refined product and blocked crude is, as Shaw puts it, a “double whammy.”
The scale is stark: the top three global exporters of jet fuel — China, South Korea and Kuwait — are effectively sidelined. China has banned jet-fuel exports, South Korea has cut production because it can’t secure enough crude, and Kuwait cannot ship its product out. Together, those outages remove a large share of global aviation fuel supply.
The U.S. is not immune. Although it is the world’s largest oil producer and a net exporter of jet fuel, the U.S. West Coast has for years imported some jet fuel from Asia. David Ruisard of commodities intelligence group Argus notes California has been taking fuel from Asia while local refineries have shut down, citing state environmental rules among other factors. Domestic fuel from Gulf Coast refineries can reach Los Angeles only by transiting the Panama Canal, which can be slower and more expensive than importing from Asia — a route now constrained.
U.S. carriers are also financially exposed. Many largely stopped hedging fuel after a period when hedges proved costly, leaving them vulnerable to sudden price spikes. Delta Airlines recently told investors it expects the fuel spike to add about $2 billion in costs this quarter. Delta’s position is somewhat stronger because it owns a refinery, but its CEO Ed Bastian said the airline has had to reassess fuel assumptions rapidly, cut unprofitable flights and raise fares to recoup higher fuel bills. Delta said it is not currently worried about immediate shortages.
Shaw and others say that by trimming capacity and passing on higher fuel costs, airlines should be able to avoid formal shortages in the U.S. and Europe, though Asia faces greater risks because of deeper supply disruptions.
Even if shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resumed instantly, relief would not come quickly. Restarting oil fields and bringing complex refinery units back online takes time; some facilities have been damaged. Rystad Energy estimates damage to oil and gas infrastructure in the Middle East could total as much as $50 billion. Tankers also need weeks to reach destinations once they depart. Argus notes the last jet-fuel shipment that made it through the strait into Europe was loaded on Feb. 28, before the war began; no further deliveries are currently en route. “The market’s effectively seized up,” Shaw says.
Bottom line: travelers should expect higher fares, more route cuts and additional fees in the near term as the aviation industry absorbs a sharp jump in jet fuel costs and the global supply chain slowly works back toward normal.