Micheal O'Leary said the pressure won’t ease until shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resumes.Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images

European airlines will fail if jet fuel costs stay high, Ryanair CEO says – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary warns that some of Europe's airlines will go out of business if jet fuel prices remain elevated.

“If pricing stays higher for longer this summer, we think a number of our airline competitors in Europe are going to face real financial difficulties,” O’Leary said on Tuesday, speaking to CNBC at a conference in Oslo. “Pricing has mushroomed since March. Jet A-1 was about $80 a barrel in March. It’s now $150.”

Jet fuel prices in Europe have more than doubled since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks against Iran on Feb. 28. Tehran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the world's oil normally travels.