Holiday cancellation due to jet fuel shortage - covered by insurance?

Rich1964

With the balance due in the next two weeks for our Jet2 package holiday; if there was a cancellation due to a Jet fuel shortage (only 6 weeks supply in Europe being reported on TV), what protection do people have if the holiday is cancelled for this Reason? Would it be considered due to an act of war in terms of insurance?

Isthisforreal99

If it's a Jet2 package then surely they would be refunding you so no need to involve insurance.

LightFlare

I haven’t read the report - but does it mention how much supply they “normally” hold ?

I have a feeling this is another sensationalist bit of reporting

la531983

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81966477#Comment_81966477

This. OP is worrying about nothing

GingerTim

I'm not sure this can necessarily just be dismissed as sensationalist reporting, the 'six weeks' report was a statement from Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, so not just some random joe.

But agree that the OP doesn't need to worry as it's a package.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/16/europe-supply-jet-fuel-iran-war-flight-cancellations-iea

Europe has only six weeks of jet fuel left before shortages will hit because of the Iran war, according to the head of a global energy watchdog.

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said there would be flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies from the Middle East were not restored within the coming weeks.

“I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be cancelled as a result of lack of jet fuel,” he told the Associated Press.

[…]

However, there have not yet been outright shortages of jet fuel as shipments that set off before the war continued to arrive. The final cargoes have now made it to Europe.

Birol said Europe had “maybe six weeks or so [of] jet fuel left”, AP reported. His comments add to those of Airports Council International Europe, a lobby group that last week wrote to the EU’s energy and transport commissioners saying the bloc was three weeks away from shortages.

Annemos

Many of us are thinking about this, as our Final Package Holiday Balance comes due.

I took a look at my Terms and Conditions in the Contract…..

If I did not pay the balance due, then the holiday would have been deemed to have been cancelled by me and there was a sliding scale of how much I would forfeit. More than 70 days out, for example, I would lose the deposit.

But also interesting in mine, is that I have been booked onto a Chinese Airline and they require total up-front payment to purchase that airline ticket. And it is also non-refundable. (At least that price is now fixed, as it was done pre the War, although there may be an extra fuel surcharge, I suppose?)

In my Terms and conditions, it says that in the case of Force Majeure like War, the Travel Company can keep any reasonable expenses and reduce that from any eventual refund, for example if they end up cancelling the package.

So I think I would still end up holding that non-refundable air Ticket, even if they cancelled.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81966919#Comment_81966919

Perhaps worth naming your travel company, but on the face of it their Ts & Cs sound non-compliant with the Package Travel Regulations, which oblige the package provider to issue a full refund if they cancel the entire booking.

Annemos

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81966992#Comment_81966992

I will pass on that for now, as they do fantastic holidays for Independent Travel minded people and I am so sorry they are all having to undergo such worrying times again, after having all the Covid issues.

As I say, this has not been tested yet, as the holiday is still on. But I shall bear your comment in mind if it does get cancelled. (Can a Travel Company's Terms and Conditions ever override the Package Travel Regulations?).

This one is not ABTA but is AITO. I had a fabulous holiday with them last year! And the most recent reviews have also praised them for successful re-routing flights, where their customers had become stranded due to the War.

eskbanker

Can a Travel Company's Terms and Conditions ever override the Package Travel Regulations?

No.

diveunderthebonnet

Not a 100% fact BUT the news is stating that the Straits of Hormus is now open for the duration of the cease fire ,if true i would expect that the amount of ships entering and returning with full holds will be above the norm.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81967470#Comment_81967470

If the news is correct, I would certainly expect that the ships that have been held will all depart with their full cargo.

The appetite of shipping lines to return to reload might remain diminished.