Europe has stocks of jet fuel sufficient for about six weeks, warned the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, citing potential flight cancellations if disruptions to energy flows continue due to the conflict with Iran.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Birol painted a particularly disturbing picture of the global impact of the crisis, which he called “the biggest energy crisis we have ever faced.” He said the crisis was caused by the disruption of the flow of oil, gas and other critical energy resources through the Strait of Hormuz.

“In the past there was a band called Dire Straits. Now we have a real ‘dangerous strait’ and this will have a significant impact on the global economy. The longer this situation lasts, the more negative the impact on growth and inflation around the world will be,” he said.

The IEA chief warned that the crisis would lead to higher fuel, gas and electricity prices. “The impact will be higher gasoline prices, higher gas prices and higher electricity costs,” he noted.

According to Birol, the economic impact will not affect all countries to the same degree. He said countries such as Japan, South Korea, India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh are at the forefront of the energy crisis.

“The countries that will be most affected are not necessarily those whose voices are heard the most. It will be mostly developing countries, poorer nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America,” he said.

He added that the impact would extend to Europe as well as the Americas. Speaking from his office in Paris, he said that if the Straits of Hormuz are not reopened, Europe could soon face problems with air traffic.

“I can say that we will soon hear news of cancellations of flights from city A to city B because of a lack of aircraft fuel,” he said.

Birol also expressed his opposition to Iran’s so-called “toll” system that Iran applies to certain ships, allowing them to transit the Strait of Hormuz for a fee. He argued that making such a practice permanent could set a precedent for other strategically important sea lanes, such as the Strait of Malacca in Asia.

“If we change it once, it may be difficult to return to the previous regime,” he noted. “It will be difficult to implement a toll system here and not implement it elsewhere.”

“I would like to see oil flow unconditionally from point A to point B,” he concluded.