RIO DE JANEIRO, June 6 (Reuters) - Deferring jet orders due

to uncertainty and higher jet fuel prices caused by the war in

Iran would be unwise for Middle Eastern carriers, as the

decision could be costly in the long term, a vice president of

the airline trade group IATA said on Saturday.

Kamil Al-Awadhi, regional VP for Africa and the Middle East,

told reporters that he does not expect the war and higher costs

to affect aircraft orders from Middle Eastern carriers. The

region's airlines are major buyers of jets from planemakers

Boeing ( BA ) and Airbus.

Deferrals are "not wise because that deferral will cost

you," he said, citing long waiting times for aircraft. He made

the remarks on the sidelines of the International Air Transport

Association's (IATA) annual summit this weekend in Rio de

Janeiro.

Given the waiting time for Airbus's latest generation of

single-aisle planes, it would take years for operators to get

their planes, Al-Awadhi said.

"The plan is to continue where we're going ... even though

this is a hiccup," he added.

Global airlines are slashing flights and raising fares and

fees to offset higher costs, even as airports in the Middle East

have been targeted by air strikes linked to the war in Iran.

Al-Awadhi also said he was worried that an Iranian attack that

killed one person at an airport in Kuwait earlier this week

resulted in damage to a terminal used by foreign carriers in the

country. He said he believed the terminal would take at least a

year to repair.

"My personal guess, looking at the damage from the videos

and pictures that were sent to me, it's going to take ages," he

said. "So my concern is, will the other carriers be able to go

into Kuwait?"

He said Kuwait would either need to fast-track completion of

part of a new airport terminal, or allow foreign airlines to

operate out of terminals currently used by domestic carriers

such as Kuwait Airways.

"It will take some tough decisions and logistics to get that

sorted," he added.