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Due to the severe contraction in fuel stocks, operational restrictions have been introduced at four strategic Italian air transport hubs: Milan Linate, Bologna, Venice and Treviso.
According to Air Bp Italia, the British Petroleum group’s specialised aviation division, the restrictions will remain in place until at least 9 April, with the aim of preserving reserves for essential services.
The official notices clearly specify that ‘priority will be given to ambulance flights, state flights and flights with a duration of more than three hours’.
For all other short-haul flights, a supply ceiling of 2,000 litres per aircraft has been imposed, Il Corriere della Sera reported, after reviewing the Notam bulletins distributed to airport companies.
Although this amount may appear substantial, technical calculations provided by pilots to the newspaper make it clear that this quantity guarantees less than one hour of autonomy for aircraft such as Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s.
Without prior refuelling at other airports, this restriction would prevent direct domestic routes, such as the one between Veneto and Sicily, from being served.
Despite the alarm, the Save Group, which manages the Venice and Treviso airports, has tried to downplay the situation, clarifying that the difficulties are related to a single operator. “The problem is related to a single supplier and in the Group’s airports there are others that supply the majority of carriers,” the company clarified.
Save reiterated that “no limitation is placed on intercontinental flights and the Schengen area and operations are guaranteed without any alarmism”.
At the same time, a similar reassurance came from the San Francesco d’Assisi airport in Perugia, which confirmed to the Ansa agency that security stocks are sufficient for another three to four weeks.
Corriere della Sera, which reported the news, points out that flights during Easter and the following days are safe, but also that the last tanker loaded with kerosene from the Persian Gulf arrives in Europe on 9 April, posing risks in the immediate future.
Geopolitical crisis and scenarios for the summer season
Although not explicitly mentioned in official communications, the origin of this logistical bottleneck lies in international tensions, starting with the substantial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz for tankers containing crude oil destined for much of Europe.
Lufthansa confirmed to Die Welt that the criticality is already palpable in Asian markets and that ‘the longer the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, the more critical the security of paraffin supplies could become’. The instability has already triggered record price increases, with fuel prices soaring over 100% in some areas.
As reported by Corriere della Sera, Ryanair is monitoring the situation very closely. Although supplies are guaranteed until the end of May, the company does not rule out the possibility of summer cancellations if the conflict in Iran continues.
At the moment, Italy has about seven months’ supply autonomy, but the fragility of the European supply chain remains the central issue for the coming months.