In guidance first published on 24 April 2026 and updated on 8 May, the Department for Transport, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said there was no current need for passengers to change travel plans. The note says UK airlines are not seeing a jet fuel shortage, with fuel generally bought in advance and airports maintaining bunkered stocks as part of normal resilience planning. (gov.uk) The published position has two parts. Current operations are being presented as stable, while ministers continue to work with the aviation industry and international partners on contingency arrangements intended to limit passenger disruption if conditions worsen. (gov.uk)
The immediate trigger for that contingency work is the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In its 2 May 2026 statement, the Department for Transport said officials had been monitoring UK jet fuel supplies daily and working with airlines, airports and fuel suppliers to stay ahead of any problems; the department also said domestic jet fuel production had increased and that the UK imports supplies from a range of countries not reliant on the Strait, including the United States. (gov.uk) For passengers, the operational advice remains narrow and practical. The government is telling travellers to check directly with their airline before departure, follow Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office travel advice, and make sure travel insurance is in place and appropriate. (gov.uk)
The cancellation figures published so far do not indicate widespread UK schedule disruption. In the updated factsheet, government cites Cirium data showing that 0.53% of the UK’s planned flights for May 2026 had been cancelled. Separate Department for Transport analysis of OAG schedule data, published on 8 May 2026, says around 1,200 departing passenger flights were removed from schedules between 3 May and 14 June 2026, which is less than 1% of planned departures in that period. (gov.uk) The government nonetheless acknowledges a geographical pattern within those changes. According to the factsheet, reductions in summer schedules have mainly affected destinations closer to the Middle East, and officials continue to monitor the position as airlines make routine operational adjustments. (gov.uk)
The passenger rights framework is set out more clearly in published guidance. Where UK law applies, a cancelled flight must trigger a choice between a full refund and alternative travel arrangements. That coverage includes any flight departing the UK on any airline, flights arriving in the UK on an EU or UK carrier, and flights arriving in the EU on a UK carrier. (gov.uk) Protection does not end with reimbursement. The Department for Transport says significant delays bring care and assistance duties after at least two hours on short-haul services, three hours on medium-haul and four hours on long-haul. The Civil Aviation Authority says that care can include food and drink, a means of communication, accommodation and transport to it where rerouting runs overnight. It also notes that fixed-sum compensation is not automatic where disruption results from extraordinary circumstances outside the airline’s control. (gov.uk)
The most technical element concerns airport slots. At coordinated airports, airlines normally have to use at least 80% of their allocated take-off and landing slots during a season to keep them for the equivalent season the following year. If use falls below that threshold, the slots can be reassigned, which is why the rule is commonly described as ‘use it or lose it’. (gov.uk) Airport Coordination Limited has updated its guidance so that airlines will not lose slots where fuel shortages prevent them from operating. Alongside that change, the government is seeking industry views on temporary measures for the summer 2026 and winter 2026 seasons that would let carriers consolidate same-day services to the same destination and, more broadly, hand back a limited proportion of slots without losing future rights. (gov.uk)
There is, however, an important legal and administrative distinction. Airport Coordination Limited said on 6 May 2026 that the wider slot hand-back relief announced by government cannot be applied until the UK Slot Regulation is formally amended by statutory instrument. Until that happens, ACL said airlines should not return slots that they expect to seek relief for under the proposed changes. (acl-uk.org) The Department for Transport says the point of the temporary relief is to let airlines lock in schedules earlier, move passengers onto comparable services with more notice, avoid operating near-empty aircraft and reduce wasted fuel. As of the 8 May guidance update, ministers still say there is no need for passengers to change travel plans because of jet fuel availability alone; if a flight is cancelled or subject to a significant delay, the existing refund, re-routing and care framework remains the main form of passenger protection. (gov.uk)