The UK Department for Transport has allowed airlines to combine passengers from different flights into fewer planes as part of plans to save jet fuel, according to the British agency PA Media.

The temporary change in rules allows airlines to combine flights on routes where there are multiple flights to the same destination on the same day.The Ministry of Transport explained that this means passengers can be transferred from the flight they originally booked to a similar flight to reduce the amount of fuel wasted from flying planes that did not have all their seats and might have been canceled.

She also said that the measure is designed to give passengers "greater confidence" by helping airlines finalize their schedules earlier.This comes amid warnings of a shortage of jet fuel ahead of the peak holiday season if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.

Jet fuel supplies from the Middle East have been disrupted since the US-Israeli war with Iran, due to Iran's de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international shipping lane.