Wednesday briefing: Fuel rationing hits Italian airports, Air India CEO resigns, EASA decision looms:
Jet fuel rationing has reached seven Italian airports. Air India's CEO has resigned. EASA reviews UAE airspace safety on Thursday. And Delta reports earnings at 11.30am UK time — we will have the analysis as soon as numbers drop.
Good morning. Delta Air Lines reports first quarter earnings this morning at 6.30am Eastern — 11.30am UK time. We will have the full analysis as soon as numbers drop. Here is what else matters in aviation today.
Jet fuel rationing reaches Italian airports
The fuel crisis has moved from a pricing problem to a supply problem at seven Italian airports. Air BP Italia issued emergency notices restricting refuelling at Bologna, Milan Linate, Venice Marco Polo, Treviso, Brindisi, Pescara and Reggio Calabria, with caps as low as 2,000 litres per aircraft for non-priority short-haul flights. Priority status has been granted to medical flights, state aircraft and long-haul flights of three hours or more.
This is the scenario Ryanair's Michael O'Leary warned about last week — physical supply constraints beginning to bite at European airports ahead of the summer peak. Short-haul operators are resorting to fuel tankering, carrying extra fuel from departure airports to offset restrictions. The practice adds weight, reduces efficiency and increases costs. It also consumes more fuel in the process, compounding the shortage it is designed to work around.
The UK is among the most exposed countries in Europe. Guernsey-based carrier Aurigny has already cancelled flights from mid-April through early June. O'Leary has warned of broader UK summer disruptions given Kuwait's significant market share in UK jet fuel supply.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson resigns
Air India has confirmed the departure of its CEO Campbell Wilson, hours after reports first emerged of his intention to step down from the national carrier. Wilson had led Air India's transformation since the Tata Group acquired the airline from the Indian government in 2022, overseeing a significant fleet expansion and product overhaul. The timing is notable — Air India is in the middle of one of the most challenging operating environments in the industry's recent history, with fuel costs surging and Middle East route disruptions hitting Asia-Europe connectivity directly.
No successor has been named. The airline's ongoing integration of Vistara and its widebody fleet expansion programme give the board limited time to find a replacement.
EASA decision on UAE airspace due Thursday
April 10 is the date EASA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, reviews whether to extend or lift its conflict zone advisory covering UAE airspace. Emirates has 150 departures scheduled from Dubai today and flydubai has 73 — 223 combined, the highest daily total tracked since the conflict began on February 28.
Every European carrier grounded since late February has this date circled. If EASA lifts or significantly relaxes its advisory, British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM and Air France could resume Dubai services almost overnight. A resumption of European carrier operations to Dubai would meaningfully ease capacity pressure on the routes connecting Europe and Asia that have been operating with reduced connectivity since March.
The decision lands Thursday. Its commercial implications for European network carriers are significant.
Air Algerie orders ten Boeing 737s
Air Algerie has ordered ten Boeing 737-8s as part of a government-backed bid to modernise the carrier's fleet. A quiet order in a week dominated by fuel crisis headlines, but notable as a signal that airline fleet investment continues despite the turbulence. Boeing needs every order it can get given the pressure its order backlog faces from the operational crisis affecting so many of its customers.
