Kerosene prices will remain high for a long time, despite the truce between Iran and the US. This opinion was expressed by the chief executive of the British airline Virgin Atlantic, Cornel Koster.
“Regardless of what happens next in the Persian Gulf, part of this global energy price crisis will remain. Kerosene prices will remain high for a long time“, he told the Financial Times.
Koster added that jet fuel prices were still more than twice as high as they were before the start of the US-Israeli conflict against Iran in February, despite the “good news“ about the truce. He noted that a prolonged conflict would also negatively affect global demand for transport.
Earlier, the head of the International Air Transport Association, Willie Walsh, said that the restoration of aviation fuel supplies would take several months, even if shipping in the Strait of Hormuz were restored. According to him, the price of jet fuel would remain high due to the damage caused to the oil refining infrastructure in the Middle East.
The rise in global aviation fuel prices is associated with the conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran. Because of this, global air carriers were forced to increase ticket prices and cancel flights. Australian airline Jetstar and New Zealand's Air New Zealand also announced flight cancellations. According to the newspaper, Virgin Atlantic adds fuel surcharges ranging from £50 to £360 ($67.6 to $486.5) to ticket prices, depending on the class of service.
The situation in the Middle East
On April 11, Iran and the United States held several rounds of talks in Islamabad. As Tehran and Washington later reported, the parties failed to reach an agreement on a long-term settlement of the conflict due to a number of contradictions.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were attacked. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation, attacking Israel. The Iranian authorities also decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to ships associated with the United States, Israel and countries that supported the aggression against the Islamic Republic.