The head of Frankfurt Airport has a message for anyone worried about running out of jet fuel mid-vacation this summer: relax, we've got this - probably.
"I would clearly tell every passenger: don't worry about your booking at the moment," Fraport chief executive Stefan Schulte told the Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday, in the sort of confident statement that usually precedes a minor panic.
Schulte said he believed fuel supplies in Europe would remain secure throughout the summer, adding: "I assume that over the coming months, we will have sufficient jet fuel in Europe - and, by extension, in Germany. If things go well, this will hold true through the end of the year."
Even if shortages emerge somewhere, Schulte assured passengers they'd either be rebooked or refunded. "And in my view, concerns about being stranded somewhere are unfounded," he added, noting that countries like India and China are "handling the situation very professionally by building up reserves. Any aircraft that is allowed to land there will also be able to fly back out again."
For context, the fuel jitters are caused by the ongoing war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a waterway through which more than 25% of Europe's aviation fuel normally passes during peacetime. Experts have warned of possible supply bottlenecks, but Schulte is betting that peace, or at least a workaround, will hold.