Soaring fuel costs could close some airlines, aviation chief warns

Soaring fuel costs could spark a rise in air fares and threaten to close some airlines, one European aviation chief warned on Thursday. Eamon Brennan, director general of air traffic control body Eurocontrol, noted that oil had spiked to $152 a barrel as a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I would say with the price of fuel we will probably see fares starting to rise in the longer term, with possible fuel surcharges later this year,” he said. Brennan pointed out that many airlines were not viable with oil at $100 a barrel. He added that it remained to be seen how these carriers would cope with higher oil prices, particularly those that had not hedged their fuel needs. Ryanair is 80% hedged for this year, while Aer Lingus’s parent, International Airlines Group, recently confirmed that it had hedged 70% of its needs. However, Brennan said that air travel continued to recover from Covid lockdowns around Europe, despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Traffic is at 82% of the levels it hit in 2019, the year before the pandemic struck. “The biggest strain on the system is at airports,” Brennan noted, saying that many were struggling with security, baggage handling and other services as passengers returned in droves.<br/>