EasyJet summer holiday bookings down on last year amid Iran war uncertainty

Airline, which took £25m hit on jet fuel in March, says passengers are waiting later to book trips The airline easyJet has said its summer holiday bookings are lagging behind last year’s, as the Middle East conflict weighs on consumer confidence and passengers appear to be waiting later to book trips. The budget carrier said it had to spend an unexpected extra £25m on jet fuel in March after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran. However, easyJet said it was not experiencing any disruption to fuel supplies, adding that it had its usual visibility of supplies over a rolling four-week period. It said it did not expect to cancel any further flights this summer despite the warning from Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary in April that the UK was the most vulnerable country in Europe to potential jet fuel shortages should the strait of Hormuz remain closed. EasyJet said customers should “book with confidence” amid signs that worries over fuel shortages and resulting flight cancellations were discouraging travellers, echoing comments from rivals including Ryanair. Kenton Jarvis, easyJet’s chief executive, said airlines were able to source jet fuel from a range of different countries: “Fuel suppli