Travelers face increased costs and flight cancellations as airlines prioritize profitability amid a global energy crisis. Dutch airline KLM announced cuts of 160 flights next month, approximately 1% of its European routes, citing "rising kerosene costs" and stating that a limited number of flights are "no longer financially viable to operate." This move directly impacts the working class and general public, who are already paying "higher ticket fares and add-on fees" across various carriers.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol warned Thursday that Europe could have "maybe six weeks or so" of jet fuel remaining. Birol described the situation as "the largest energy crisis we have ever faced," directly linking it to the disruption of oil, gas, and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war. He stated that the longer the situation persists, the worse it will be for "economic growth and inflation around the world."
Birol predicted the crisis would lead to "higher petrol (gasoline) prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices" globally. He emphasized that developing countries, including poorer nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, would suffer the most. While acknowledging that "everybody is going to suffer" and "no country, no country is immune to this crisis," the burden of these rising costs disproportionately falls on the working class and the economically dispossessed.
Who Profits, Who Pays
While airlines like KLM cite "higher costs eat into their budgets," the response has been to pass these costs onto consumers through increased fares and to cut routes deemed unprofitable. U.K.-based budget carrier easyJet and U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines, which frequently flies to Europe, confirmed they were monitoring the "potential jet fuel supply issue" but did not expect immediate impacts, despite having already seen higher costs affect their operations. The focus remains on managing corporate budgets and maintaining profit margins, even as the public faces direct economic hardship.
Birol warned that if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by the end of May, many countries, starting with weaker economies, will face "huge challenges," ranging from high inflation to "slow growth or even to recession." This projection underscores how disruptions to global capital accumulation are framed as a universal crisis, while the mechanisms of wealth concentration continue to operate.
The State's Role in Securing Capital
The IEA Executive Director spoke out against Iran's "toll booth" system, which has allowed some ships to travel through the Strait for a fee. Birol argued that allowing this system to become permanent would risk setting a precedent for other vital waterways, such as the Malacca Strait in Asia. He explicitly stated, "I would like to see that the oil flows unconditionally from the point A to point B," revealing the imperative of global capital for unimpeded access to resources.
Birol expressed that it was "incomprehensible that 'a couple of hundred men with guns'"—a clear reference to Iranian forces—were able to "hold hostage the global economy." This framing positions state actors challenging the free flow of resources as an impediment to the global economic order, rather than a response to geopolitical tensions or a struggle for national sovereignty over resources. The IEA, which advises governments on energy policy and coordinated a record release of emergency oil reserves earlier in the crisis, acts as a coordinating body for the interests of global capital.
Geopolitics of Energy
Nearly 20% of the world’s traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime. More than 110 oil-laden tankers and over 15 carriers loaded with liquefied natural gas are currently waiting in the Persian Gulf, unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Birol noted that even with a peace deal, war damage to energy facilities means it could take "up to two years to come back where we were before the war," with "over 80 key assets in the region" damaged, more than one-third "severely or very severely." This highlights the long-term structural damage inflicted by conflicts driven by resource control. Birol concluded that "energy and geopolitics have been always interwoven," and "energy is at the heart of many conflicts," acknowledging the material basis of international strife.