Transport secretary reassures MPs on jet fuel supplies

UK holidaymakers flying abroad this summer “should not experience major disruption” due to any shortage of jet fuel, transport secretary Heidi Alexander told MPs yesterday.

 

However, Alexander said “it will take some time for supplies to get back to normal” despite “the good news this week” of a deal between the US and Iran to end the war which has cut off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz since the end of February.

 

Appearing before the Transport Select Committee of MPs, Alexander said: “I’ve been having regular meetings with the secretary of state for energy [Ed Miliband] since the start of the crisis. 

 

“His department has been having regular dialogue with jet fuel suppliers to understand how much jet fuel is coming in [and] he also asked the four domestic refineries to maximise production of jet fuel.”

 

She told the MPs: “Airlines have told me they are not experiencing any shortage of jet fuel at the moment.

 

“All the indications we have are that people should not experience major disruption due to jet fuel supplies in coming months.”

 

Alexander added that “airlines like Jet2, Tui, easyJet and Ryanair have given price guarantees this summer”.

 

She noted: “We did decide to give extra flexibility on landing slots to enable responsible planning [by airlines] because I did not want last-minute cancellations.”

 

Yet she warned the disruption to oil suppliers would continue to have an impact “for the coming six months”.

 

Asked about the delays to UK travellers on arrival at many European airports due to the biometric registration requirements of the EU’s Entry-Exit System (EES), Alexander acknowledged “problems at Dover at the May half term” and said: “EU countries have the possibility to pause biometric checks when there is pressure at the border.”

 

She insisted: “We’re acutely aware of this and doing everything we can to ensure people can travel easily and freely this summer.”

 

However, asked whether EU provisions for border authorities to suspend biometric registration should be extended beyond September – when they are currently due to end – Alexander said: “We need to see how it goes.

 

“I’ll consider what more we can do to provide confidence for people.” 

 

A senior official at the Frontex agency which helps manage the EU’s external borders confirmed this month that it could take up to two years for the impact of the system to “stabilise”.

 

Uku Särekanno, Frontex deputy executive, director told Abta’s Travel Matters conference: “We expect the situation will stabilise in one or two years.”

 

The secretary of state reassured MPs on the committee that the government would not spend any public money to aid construction of a third runway at Heathrow, saying: “Airport expansions are privately financed.

 

“Any improvements to road and rail need to be financed by the expansion scheme promoter.”

 

Alexander promised a national policy statement on Heathrow expansion which would “set out very clear tests and expectations” for a third runway and said: “We’ll be consulting on the Heathrow expansion policy statement in the summer.”