Mainland airline bosses on Wednesday said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East will not have a “prolonged impact” on oil prices, but it is difficult to predict how much longer energy costs will fluctuate.

Continued strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran – coupled with Tehran's retaliatory attacks – have upended the world's energy and transport sectors.

Wang Junjin, chairman of Juneyao Group that owns Juneyao Air, said the country has its oil pricing mechanism to respond to the situation.

“[The situation in the Middle East] certainly affected oil prices, but I believe it should be a phase...and might not be long-term,” Wang told RTHK at the "Two Sessions" meetings in Beijing.

“China’s entire energy structure is now changing, where we see the rise of new energy and green energy, so the impact is not as huge as before.”

Crude almost reached US$120 a barrel on Monday amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, before dropping back to below US$90.

Wang Yu, chairman of low-cost carrier Spring Airlines, said it is hard to predict the trend of oil prices and costs might change any time, depending on the development of the conflict.

He also said the Gulf region is crucial for flights around the world.

“The Middle East is an important hub and at the apex of Eurasia and Africa. The instability in the Middle East is causing great disruption to transit flight services,” he said.

“We have relatively fewer direct flights to Africa, so [the situation in] the Persian Gulf will have some impact on routes to Belt and Road countries, especially those in Africa.”



Edited by Thomas McAlinden