UK to allow international travel from May 17 in boost for jet fuel

International travel from the UK could resume from May 17 at the earliest, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said, providing a boost for the jet fuel outlook in Europe.

The comments from Shapps made on April 9 follow a report by the UK's Global Travel Taskforce. The report was keenly awaited by market participants the UK, which was by far the biggest consumer of jet fuel in Europe prior to the pandemic.

"The report, produced by the Global Travel Taskforce, shows how international travel could resume from May 17 2021 at the earliest, in an accessible and affordable way," said Shapps on the government's website.

UK jet fuel demand plunged 74% on year in January as a consequence of lockdowns. Bans on travel -- especially long-haul -- saw jet fuel consumption in Europe plunge about 90% in April 2020, before recovering progressively to reach a post-COVID-19 peak in August at around 45% of pre-pandemic levels.

According to the latest available data from the JODI World Oil Database, the UK's consumption of jet fuel -- jet A1 used as aviation fuel and duel-purpose kerosene used as heating oil -- plunged to 228,000 mt in January 2021.

Sluggish jet fuel demand continues to weigh on the outlook for oil. Last week, S&P Global Platts Analytics said the global oil market faces "short-term headwinds" but forecast oil demand will recover by 5.8 million b/d this year, with Europe making up 900,000 b/d of the total.

European air traffic -- a key proxy for jet fuel demand -- continues to edge higher but remains about 70% below comparable levels in 2019, according to data from Radarbox.com.

In Western Europe, which already has the highest percentage of lost airline capacity globally, seat capacity remained at 69% below pre-pandemic levels on April 6, according to aviation data provider OAG, compared to 75% below on March 22.

Platts Analytics expects demand for jet and kerosene in the region to recover to 1.19 million b/d by December, down 13% from the same month in 2019.