Transportation

Chevron CEO: Aviation industry issues will ‘probably get worse’ amid Iran war

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by Max Rego - 04/26/26 6:09 PM ET

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by Max Rego - 04/26/26 6:09 PM ET

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Mike Wirth, the CEO of Chevron, predicted Sunday that the aviation industry will continue to suffer from jet fuel shortages arising from Iranian restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Inventories of jet fuel in certain parts of the world were at seasonally, relatively low levels before the conflict began. The Middle East refiners are significant exporters of jet fuel, particularly to Europe, where 75 percent of Europe’s imported jet fuel tends to come from those refineries. It’s not flowing today,” Wirth told host Margaret Brennan on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

The price of jet fuel has risen in response to the conflict, as the Iranian military has restricted shipping in the strait — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil flows. Jet fuel is primarily derived from crude oil, the price of which has increased considerably since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February.

The U.S. Navy has also enforced a blockade of the waterway since April 13.

Last week, the global average price of jet fuel fell 6.7 percent relative to the week prior, according to the International Air Travel Association. The price of jet fuel in the U.S., meanwhile, has surged from $2.50 per gallon the day before the U.S. and Israel launched the war to $4.19 per gallon on Friday, according to the Argus U.S. Jet Fuel Index published by Airlines for America.

In response to the higher costs of jet fuel, international carriers have cut back on flight schedules and increased fares. Domestic airlines have also taken similar steps, as United Airlines became the first major U.S. carrier to scale back its schedule last month.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the airline would cut roughly 5 percent of planned routes during the second and third quarters of this year. Delta Air Lines also plans to cut flights this summer, USA Today reported earlier this week.

Wirth, on Sunday, noted those cascading impacts of the jet fuel shortage and said that it will be “felt most broadly” with respect to airfares. The average airfare for U.S. flights rose by more than $7.57 from February to March, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

“I think aviation is clearly an area where it’s going to probably get worse over the next few weeks,” the Chevron CEO predicted.

As for what that will look like, Wirth said that flights “may not be as abundant as they otherwise” would be, and planes will likely be “more full than they would have been.”

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