JetBlue, one of the airlines linking Bermuda with the United States, is being hit hard by turbulence from the war in Iran, with its founder warning of potential bankruptcy.

Serial budget airline creator David Neeleman launched the company 27 years ago but left it in 2007.

According to YahooFinance, a leaked recording surfaced this month of Mr Neeleman telling Breeze pilots that JetBlue was in a really tough spot, and in danger of bankruptcy.

About 40 per cent of the world’s jet fuel passes through Iran’s Strait of Hormuz each year. Its closure since February 28, has caused a global shortage, and a 70 per cent price hike.

Aviation website View from The Wing said Mr Neeleman told the pilots no one was likely to buy the airline because it is $9 billion in debt.

In an internal memo reported on by Reuters, JetBlue chief executive Joanna Geraghty denied the airline had any intention of filing for bankruptcy this year. She emphasised that the airline has liquidity and access to capital, including new financing to support operations.

At the beginning of the year, JetBlue was expecting to break even in 2026.

This week JetBlue posted a $319 million loss in the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $208 million during the same period last year.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that to mitigate the impact of the fuel hikes JetBlue has reduced second-quarter capacity by nearly one percentage point. Capacity cuts will come from off-peak travel periods, the airline said.

JetBlue expects to recapture up to 40 per cent of fuel expenses in the next quarter and to regain all of it by early next year, Reuters said.

Last week it was announced that another budget carrier, Spirit, has only enough available cash to continue operating for the next few days.

The Trump Administration has offered to come to the Spirit’s aid. The US Government would lend Spirit $500 million in exchange for the right to take control of 90 per cent of the company, CBS News has previously reported.