Air traffic German association warns of kerosene shortage in summer
According to the German aviation association BDL, the faltering supply of kerosene could soon lead to noticeable cuts in flight services. The industry is proposing concrete countermeasures.
17.04.2026, 11:15
17.04.2026, 11:16
SDA
"The summer travel season is just around the corner and the tourism ecosystem is dependent on air traffic during the peak travel and business season for inbound and outbound tourists," warned BDL CEO Joachim Lang on Friday. The newspaper "Welt am Sonntag" had previously reported on this.
Whether and when the supply situation comes to a head depends largely on the duration of the Iran war. Even if it ends in the short term, the situation on the energy markets will only ease slowly.
The association points to energy experts who say that more than 80 plants in the Middle East have been damaged, some of them severely, meaning that a return to pre-crisis levels cannot be expected in the short term. The oil industry assumes that 20 percent of global oil capacity will not be available for some time to come.
Replacement sought for imports from the Middle East
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), kerosene could become scarce in parts of Europe in the coming weeks due to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. "Several European countries could face an incipient shortage of kerosene in the next six weeks," the Paris-based IEA said the previous day.
This would depend on how much of the lost supplies from the Middle East countries could make up for with other imports. So far, 75 percent of European kerosene net imports have come from the Middle East.
According to the BDL, substitutes have mainly come from the USA. However, these supplies have so far only been able to replace around half of the lost volumes. There is a threat of low stocks and a tight market beyond the summer.
Production of German refineries
The BDL refers to figures from the energy association en2x, according to which around 5.9 million tons of the approximately 9 million tons of kerosene sold in Germany in 2024 were imported. German refineries produced 4.8 million tons, of which 1.6 million tons were exported.
The airlines have already reacted. Airlines such as KLM and SAS have removed unprofitable flights from their programs. The Lufthansa Group is leaving 27 aircraft of its regional subsidiary Cityline and intends to remove further fuel guzzlers from its fleet for the winter flight schedule from the end of October. The Swiss vacation airline Edelweiss, which belongs to the Lufthansa Group, is canceling flights. The BDL sees such measures as a first step.
In terms of concrete countermeasures, the association proposes close government monitoring of existing kerosene volumes. In addition, national and European reserves should be released. Additional transit rights for the so-called NATO pipeline could also help in order to better supply the airports in Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich and Zurich.
