European airlines are facing their biggest challenge ​since the COVID-19 pandemic as the Iran war pushes up jet fuel prices and buffets travel through the Middle East, casting a shadow ‌over the summer holiday season.

Reuters – Carriers have been largely riding out the crisis with hedges that have tamed costs even as the price of jet fuel has risen nearly 84% since the start of the conflict on February 28, but they could face shortages if the war does not end soon.

"There is a risk that we'll see rationing of fuel supply, particularly in Asia and Europe," ​Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association, told Reuters on Tuesday, while adding that supply remained robust for now.

Walsh said, however, that the situation ​was not yet as bad as the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which led to travel demand ⁠plummeting and hundreds of billions of dollars in losses for the aviation sector.