Airlines can cancel flights in advance over fuel shortages, under new plans

Airlines will be able to cancel flights weeks in advance, without losing valuable take off and landing slots at busy airports, if they face fuel shortages this summer.

New contingency plans have been drawn up by the government to let carriers plan ahead, helping to avoid disruptive last-minute cancellations for passengers.

Ministers have also asked the UK's four refineries to maximise jet fuel supply, and are exploring ways to increase supplies from the US.

Airlines say they are not currently experiencing fuel supply problems, but experts have warned that disruption to deliveries because of the Iran war could bring shortages within weeks.

The UK imports about 65% of the jet fuel it uses, a significant portion of which comes from the Middle East under normal circumstances.

But the closure of the Strait of Hormuz means those supplies cannot get through.

The International Energy Agency has warned that unless more fuel can be brought in from elsewhere, Europe as a whole will face shortages by June.

The government wants to allow airlines to save fuel by adjusting their schedules in advance, for example by cutting one or two flights a day on a route where they have many services to the same destination.

Airlines are usually reluctant to do this because it would place at risk their right to retain their allotted take off and landing slots at airports like London's Heathrow and Gatwick.

Such slots can be worth tens of millions of pounds, but change hands only rarely.

The allocated slots over a summer or winter normally roll over to the following year, but there is one key condition: they have to be used at least 80% of the time, otherwise they can be snapped up by rival airlines.

In practice, this can encourage airlines to fly half-empty planes to keep the slots.

The rules as they stand are contained in the Airports Slot Allocation Regulations 2025, which incorporated the EU's rules into UK law.

They are usually implemented by Airport Coordination Limited (ACL), an independent body managing slot allocation at UK airports and many globally.

Carriers have become increasingly concerned about what would happen to their slots if they have to respond to fuel shortages in the coming months.

In late April, the government said new ACL guidance for airlines made clear they would not lose their slots if a lack of fuel prevented them from flying.

The new plan, announced on Sunday, goes further by letting carriers hand back unused slots temporarily, while having the right to still use them the following year.

It is intended to allow them to axe flights at least two weeks in advance - anticipating potential problems rather than reacting to them.