Airlines must not charge customers extra fuel fees after they have already bought tickets, the EU warned on Friday, as the aviation sector feels the pain from high energy prices because of the Middle East war.

“Airlines may adapt their published fares to the situation, but adding a fuel surcharge to a ticket after it has been bought cannot be justified,” EU spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told reporters in Brussels.

Any changes post-booking can “raise issues under the EU’s unfair commercial practices”, she added.

In a document published on Friday on the energy crisis affecting the aviation sector, the EU said “any retroactive change of the price is excluded”.

“Airlines may not include terms and conditions which would allow them to increase the price of the ticket above what is advertised at the time of purchase simply because fuel was more expensive than they had accounted for,” the European Commission said.

The only exception is for package holidays if the seller has made it clear in the contract there could be a possibility of fuel-related changes to the costs.

In such cases, an increase of up to 8% is allowed, but if it is higher, the customer can accept or they have the right to cancel their booking.

Spanish low-cost carrier Volotea has been criticised in France where it is under investigation after demanding fuel surcharges from customers because of the energy shock from the war.

Gilles Gosselin, the airline’s France director, has defended the measure.

“The legality of our system has been confirmed by three independent law firms specialising in air transport and consumer law. The measure is transparent, it is temporary, and it works both ways”, up and down, Gosselin told AFP in France.

Iran says its oil production and exports continued without disruption during the 40 days of the US-Israeli aggression, while officials explore new revenue streams tied to tighter control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s oil minister said the country maintained steady crude production throughout the recent 40‑day war, which began on February 28, even as some energy facilities came under attack and tensions escalated around the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad said the sector continued operating despite the war. “During the 40 days of war, we practically had no reduction in crude oil production and our exports continued properly and there was no problem in this regard,” he said.

Paknejad praised workers across the industry, calling their performance “very brilliant” during the period.

He acknowledged that several facilities sustained damage from strikes by the American‑Zionist enemy, but said repair work was launched immediately.

According to the minister, reconstruction is progressing quickly so that the affected infrastructure can return to service on schedule and ensure the continuation of energy supplies.

The comments come amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime corridor through which a significant share of the world’s energy trade passes.

Iran shut down the strait to its enemies and their allies after the unprovoked US‑Israeli aggression. Iranian authorities began enforcing much stricter controls last month following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a blockade targeting Iranian vessels and ports.

Tehran says the measures violate the terms of a Pakistan‑brokered ceasefire that took effect on April 8 and was later extended unilaterally by Washington.

Despite the blockade, shipping activity linked to Iranian crude appears to be continuing.

Tanker tracking service TankerTrackers reported on Friday that three cargo‑empty tankers belonging to the National Iranian Tanker Company had crossed the US Navy blockade line after returning to Iran through Pakistan’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

Combined, the vessels have the capacity to transport roughly five million barrels of Iranian crude oil, it added.

Meanwhile, Iranian officials are examining ways to generate new income from the strategic waterway.

According to Ali Khezrian, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, the economy minister recently briefed the cabinet on projected revenue streams from managing traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

The report examined the economic potential of the corridor, one of the region’s most important geopolitical and commercial chokepoints.

Although no formal details have been released, domestic speculation has focused on possible earnings from transit fees, maritime services and traffic management.

Analysts cited by Iranian media say that, with new legal and operational mechanisms, Tehran could convert part of the strait’s economic capacity into stable foreign‑currency income.

Iran maintains that the waterway will remain closed to its adversaries as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports continues, describing the restrictions as maritime piracy and a war crime.

• One person remains missing in factory explosion.
• On-site research and rescue work completed.
• 51 people being treated at hospitals.

The death toll has risen to 37 from 26 and one person remains missing after a fireworks factory explosion in the southern Chinese province of Hunan, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday, in the deadliest blast reported in China since 2019.

The explosion happened at around 4:40pm (0840 GMT) on Monday in Hunan’s Liuyang, known as China’s fireworks capital because it manufactures 60% of the domestic supply of the devices and about 70% of exports.

Xinhua said on-site research and rescue work has been completed, and 51 people are being treated at hospitals.

An investigation into the incident has been launched and police have summoned eight people for questioning on suspicion of causing the deadly explosion, state media said.

The probe is under supervision of China’s top prosecutors while Hunan has ordered the suspension of operations for all fireworks plants in the city for safety inspections.

In June, an explosion at a fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people.

In 2019, a chemical plant blast in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu left 78 people dead.