Holidaymakers heading to Italy are facing disruption after jet fuel limits were introduced at four major airports, sparking warnings of potential delays and travel chaos. Airports serving some of the country’s most popular destinations, including Bologna, Venice, Treviso and Milan Linate, have been affected by temporary restrictions on fuel supplies.

An aviation notice issued Saturday said that “due to limited fuel availability from Air BP Italia, refueling services for operators contractually linked to Air BP Italia may be subject to restrictions.” According to Italian news agency ANSA, a notice by Air BP Italia, part of the British giant BP, sent to airlines warned that priority for refueling would be given to ambulance flights, state flights, and flights lasting more than three hours. For other flights, distribution will be limited at least until April 9.

Italy’s civil aviation authority President Pierluigi Di Palma told the news agency that fuel shortages were not connected to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but warned that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could see shortages exacerbated.

He said the restrictions “are linked to the Easter period of heavy traffic, not the Hormuz blockade.”

He added: “If the conflict continues, there will be consequences, but for now, I see diplomacy at work.”

Danilo Recine, vice president of Italy’s pilot union ANPAC, reiterated that the measures had little to do with the ongoing war in Iran.

He told Sky TG24 that the situation should not lead to flight cancellations over the Easter weekend.

However, he warned that “the problem will become a reality” if no solution is found to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Yesterday, US President Donald Trump made new, expletive-laden threats to escalate strikes on Iran and its infrastructure if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by his deadline.

In a social media post, Mr Trump promised strikes on Iran’s power plants and bridges. He vowed the “crazy bastards” would be “living in Hell” if the strait, a crucial waterway for global trade, isn’t opened to marine traffic by Tuesday.

He ended with “Praise be to Allah.”

Mr Trump has issued such deadlines before but extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war, which has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices in just over five weeks.

Iranian culture minister Sayed Reza Salihi-Amiri told visiting Associated Press journalists: “It seems Trump has become a phenomenon that neither Iranians nor Americans are able to fully analyse.”

He said that the president “constantly shifts between contradictory positions”.

Mr Trump’s deadline of 9pm on Monday (1am GMT Tuesday), centres on growing alarm over Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

The waterway is a critical choke point for commercial trade, especially oil and gas moving from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia, and is key to the delivery of humanitarian supplies.

Disruptions have shaken markets and pushed oil and gas-importing countries to seek alternatives.