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UAE minister warns of costs, airfares going up due to closure of Strait of Hormuz
UAE minister Sultan Al Jaber says Strait of Hormuz closure resulted in 20 per cent jump in airfares and shortage of one billion barrels of oil supply
- PUBLISHED: Tue 12 May 2026, 6:31 PM
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has resulted in a shortage of one billion barrels of oil and up to a 20 per cent jump in air ticket prices, said Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Managing Director and CEO of Adnoc.
In a post shared on social media platform X, Al Jaber warned that costs for families and manufacturers will rise due to the Strait’s closure.
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Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping lines, resulting in severe disruptions to oil and gas supplies. In addition, trade flows have also been disrupted due to the closure. The Strait is a narrow waterway which sees over 20 per cent of the world’s oil and LNG outputs pass through, making it one of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints.
Al Jaber also revealed that airlines have cut two million seats this month alone.
Airlines in the region and globally have reduced frequencies and cut routes due to regional geopolitical tensions stemming from the US-Israel-Iran conflict, airspace closures and a spike in jet fuel prices.
“The world is already one billion barrels short because of the closure of Hormuz. That is the arithmetic of extortion. Every day the Strait is held hostage, the costs go up... for families, farms, factories and economies around the world,” Al Jaber said in a post on X.
The UAE minister said fuel prices are up 30 per cent and fertiliser prices 50 per cent due to the closure of the Strait.
On Monday, a drone attack in the Strait of Hormuz targeted a cargo ship operated by a South Korean company, resulting in a fire onboard the vessel. No injuries were reported. The UAE strongly condemned the attack.
Al Jaber called for allowing ships to navigate through the Strait without any conditions or delays.
“Return freedom of navigation. No conditions. No delay,” he said.
As reported by Khaleej Times earlier in April, an estimated 0.5 million TEUs, approximately 500,000 twenty-foot container ships, sit at sea or dry ports situated in the Gulf due to the ongoing Strait of Hormuz disruption, according to PwC.
