Can Europe avoid a summer of holiday flight and cross-Channel travel chaos?

Passengers face risk of cancellations due to fuel shortages – and long airport queues due to EU entry-exit system

• What are your rights if your holiday flight is cancelled?

Holidaymakers have faced numerous stresses in recent years when planning and budgeting for the sacred summer holiday. Holiday flights to Europe have kept growing despite a pandemic, a cost of living crisis and long airport queues, but summer 2026 threatens to bring fresh anxieties.

Legacies of Brexit mean longer border checks for Britons and most non-EU nationals to get into much of Europe, and the US-Israel war on Iran has prompted fears that airlines may not have enough fuel for every scheduled flight.