Warnings of a possible jet fuel crunch in Europe are prompting some Canadians to rethink or delay summer travel, putting a spotlight on what travel insurance will, and will not, cover if flights are disrupted.
Airport industry body ACI Europe has warned that the continent could face a "systemic shortage" of jet fuel within weeks if shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is not restored, following Iran's effective closure of the chokepoint amid the 2026 war. Roughly 40% of the world's jet fuel supply normally passes through the strait.
That prospect has left travellers such as Whitby, Ont.-based Claire O'Donoghue unsure whether their plans will go ahead as booked and more inclined to consider extra protection. O'Donoghue told CTV News the uncertainty has her "waiting to see what the inevitable might be" and that adding insurance is "definitely something we would consider."
Meanwhile, travel agents report more calls from clients asking whether to stick with European plans or pause, according to a report from CTV News.
“What we’re seeing most is hesitation,” said Toronto-based agent Jason Sarracini. “If they’re in the planning phase, they’re just pausing and waiting for things to stabilize.”
Industry sources stress that a complete shutdown of transatlantic air travel remains unlikely. A more realistic scenario is a mix of higher fares, reduced frequency on some routes and more last-minute consolidation of flights as carriers rework schedules and equipment in response to tighter supply and higher prices.
Global jet fuel prices have already more than doubled since late February as the Hormuz crisis and wider Middle East conflict disrupt oil and refined product flows. Jet fuel typically accounts for around a quarter of airline operating costs, meaning sustained price shocks can quickly translate into fare increases, fuel surcharges or trimmed capacity.
“It’s one thing to have higher prices due to fuel shortage and fuel costs, but at the end of the day, the big concern is that they will consolidate flights,” said travel insurance broker Martin Firestone of Travel Secure Inc. “They will have delays in flights, and ultimately it could affect things like you meeting up with, for instance, a cruise, getting to a rental that you had booked for a summer vacation.”
Vancouver-based agent McKenzie McMillan told CTV News that if constraints persist, airlines are likely to protect core hub-to-hub services while reducing or canceling flights to less popular destinations. Carriers may also switch to more fuel-efficient aircraft, which are often smaller, increasing the risk of overbooking or passengers being moved to alternative services.
Canadian airlines said they do not currently expect significant jet fuel issues on their own networks. Air Canada has said it does “not foresee any jet fuel shortage for now,” while Flair Airlines has similarly reported no supply problems on its routes.
Canadians connecting through European hubs or flying on European airlines, however, could still be affected by any congestion or rationalization of schedules overseas, the report said.
Against that backdrop, agents and brokers are urging travellers to treat insurance as a core part of trip budgeting rather than an optional add-on.
Typical Canadian trip cancellation and interruption policies are designed to cover “sudden and unforeseen” events, and many list airline cancellation, significant delay or schedule change as potential triggers for benefits. If a carrier cancels or substantially delays a flight for reasons such as fuel shortage or operational decisions, interruption coverage may help with additional accommodation, meals and alternative transport once the airline’s own obligations are exhausted.
If a tour, cruise or package cannot operate because flights do not run, some policies will reimburse nonrefundable prepaid costs, provided the reason falls within the policy’s covered events. And if delays cause a missed connection to a cruise or onward tour, interruption benefits can cover reasonable costs to catch up, within stated limits.
However, coverage is not automatic. Policies usually require the disruption to be beyond the traveler’s control and often tied to a specified peril – such as carrier default, weather, strike or mechanical failure – rather than a general fuel shortage or geopolitical tension. Fear of future disruption is not a covered reason under most standard policies.
A traveller who chooses to cancel a September trip now purely because they are nervous about the Hormuz crisis would likely not be reimbursed unless they had purchased “cancel for any reason” coverage, which is more expensive and typically reimburses only a portion of costs, the report said.
Travel insurance specialists said two factors will be particularly important if jet fuel concerns escalate: when coverage was purchased and how insurers treat “known events.”
Once a risk becomes widely reported – for example, formal recognition of a prolonged blockade or sanctions that clearly affect air travel – many insurers classify it as a known event and exclude new claims directly linked to that cause for policies bought afterward. Policy wordings from major providers state that “any loss, condition, or event that was known, or expected when your policy was purchased” is excluded from cover.
That means travellers who purchased insurance before the current Middle East crisis fully unfolded may have broader protection than those who buy later. Brokers therefore recommend buying coverage at the same time as booking flights or packages, reading policy documents to understand how they define covered reasons, war or hostilities and carrier default, and confirming whether costs are covered if a traveler must reroute to catch a cruise or join a tour late.
Even with insurance, advisers are encouraging clients to build more slack into their itineraries. Firestone suggests longer connection times and avoiding tight turnarounds for cruises or escorted tours.
“Make it flexible to some degree, where you’re not having to catch the cruise ship the next day after you land, because if that flight does not leave that day, you’re out of luck to catch up with the cruise,” he said.
The Hormuz crisis is feeding through not only via retail travel policies but also through aviation, marine and political risk lines. Analysts noted that airlines worldwide are facing higher fuel bills, longer routings to avoid closed airspace and increased war-risk and hull-war premiums for operations near conflict zones.
Some cargo and passenger operators have already introduced extra fuel and war-risk surcharges, the report said.
Therefore, a prolonged period of volatile schedules and higher fares could mean fewer trips overall but a higher proportion of journeys involving complex routings and tight connections – conditions that tend to drive up trip-interruption frequency rather than claim severity.
