Airlines will be allowed to cancel flights weeks in advance if they face fuel shortages this summer under new contingency plans to combat the impact of the war on Iran.
It will see passengers from different flights grouped together on to fewer planes as part of plans to save jet fuel.
The temporary rule change will allow airline carriers to consolidate flights on routes where there are multiple trips to the same destination on the same day.
It means passengers could be moved from the service they originally booked to a similar one to reduce the amount of wasted fuel from flying planes that have not sold out and might have been cancelled, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.
The Conservatives have criticised the plan, claiming it could see passengers ‘herded on to a different plane, at a time of the airline’s choosing’.
Consumer group Which? said rules should not be ‘bent in favour of airlines’.
The DfT said the measure is designed to give passengers ‘greater confidence’ by helping airlines to lock in their schedules earlier.
It comes amid warnings of a shortage of jet fuel ahead of the peak summer holiday season if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen.
Supplies of jet fuel from the Middle East have been disrupted since the US and Israel’s war with Iran because of Iran’s effective closure of the strait, a critical international shipping route.
Airlines will be allowed to cancel flights weeks in advance if they face fuel shortages this summer under new contingency plans to combat the impact of the war on Iran (stock image)
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: ‘There are no immediate supply issues, but we’re preparing now to give families long-term certainty and avoid unnecessary disruption at the departure gate this summer.
‘This legislation will give airlines the tools to adjust flights in good time if they need to, which helps protect passengers and businesses.’
On Sky News this morning, she told Trevor Phillips: ‘I’m confident … that the majority of people who are travelling this summer will have a similar experience to that which they had last year.’
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden said: ‘Families who have booked their summer holiday could find their flight cancelled and themselves herded on to a different plane, at a time of the airline’s choosing.
‘The honest message is that Britain is exposed to fuel supply risks that a properly energy-secure country would not face.’
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: ‘Existing rules already allow airlines to move customers to new flights so long as they give them more than 14 days’ notice and offer the choice between a new flight or a refund.
‘It’s only for cancellations within 14 days that compensation is payable, rightly.
‘It’s not fair for the rules to now be bent in favour of airlines and potentially leave passengers holding the bill.
‘Many passengers will understand that disruptions can occur and may be happy to travel a few hours or a day later, but for those on short trips or connecting flights it could mean the trip is no longer worthwhile.
‘Before any changes are made, passengers need cast-iron assurances that their rights will not be weakened and that airlines cannot use reform as cover to shift the cost of disruption on to travellers.’
It comes as Air India announced it will cut 100 flights due to soaring jet fuel costs.
CEO of the struggling carrier Campbell Wilson said it had already reduced overseas operations for May as increasing fuel costs and airspace restrictions in India’s neighbourhood were making its overseas routes too expensive to operate.
With the situation unlikely to improve, especially since the Strait of Hormuz – an essential oil shipping route – is still closed, the airline is making additional cuts for June and July.