The jet fuel shortage at OR Tambo International Airport should largely be resolved by the end of this month, as additional fuel will be made available to airlines whose suppliers are currently unable to fulfil their contractual obligations.
So said the Jet Fuel Forum (JFF) committee – which consists of government entities such as Transnet Pipelines, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), Acsa and airline bodies and associations such as Iata, Aasa and Barsa – in a media statement today (Friday, May 27).
The statement follows a stakeholders’ meeting held earlier where the JFF reported it was in the final stages of concluding an arrangement that would see 1,5 million litres of jet fuel being made available to some of the airlines whose fuel suppliers’ operations had been disrupted by flooding in KwaZulu Natal in recent weeks.
The JFF reported that, as of Monday (May 23), the airport had 5,2 days of jet fuel, which was more than adequate to supply all airlines operating to and from OR Tambo.
“However, while more airlines have been receiving sufficient fuel from OR Tambo, thereby operating non-stop flights to their destinations, a very small number of airlines are still tankering fuel in and only uplifting top-up fuel from OR Tambo or from other Acsa airports,” said a JFF spokesperson.
According to the JFF, during the week to May 24, two international flights rerouted to other Acsa airports, and another two rerouted to other airports. The total number of departure movements, both international and domestic, totalled 445 over the last two days, May 23 and 24, with zero flight cancellations.
Developments to secure fuel
The South African Petroleum Industry Association has fully injected the 20 million litres they had guaranteed into the Multi Product Pipeline in Durban. This fuel has arrived at the National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (NATREF), and eight million litres, which is the first batch, was available at OR Tambo by today (May 27).
This will be followed by another batch of eight million litres, which will be available the following week, and the final batch of four million litres will be available the week thereafter. This is in addition to the weekly 16 million litres transported directly from NATREF to OR Tambo via the dedicated Transnet Jet Fuel Pipeline.
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has enabled rail services from Matola in Mozambique to OR Tambo, with 1,1 million litres arriving per week (from May 3). The second train arrived on May 16 and a further 1,9 million litres of jet fuel arrived at the airport on May 18 from Durban via rail. This is part of Transnet’s business continuity plan to ensure security of supply of jet fuel to OR Tambo.
The additional 1,5 million litres of fuel, committed by the Central Energy Fund and earmarked for airlines that are unable to secure fuel from their suppliers, is expected to arrive soon. The JFF is in the process of finalising a list of airlines that will have access to this fuel and the arrangement should be in place before the end of next week.
Several interventions have been made to ensure that OR Tambo is operationally ready to receive fuel via road tankers. While the final go-ahead for this is yet to be issued, the airport can accommodate road tankers if needed.
Rail repairs on course
Despite renewed flooding due to heavy rains in the Durban area last weekend, TFR is confident that its infrastructure rehabilitation remains on course and the next milestone is the resumption of a single-line operation on the Container Corridor mainline from June 9, followed by a double-line operation commencing from September 17.
As more fuel imports become available for transportation via rail or pipelines, Transnet, through its relevant operating divisions, will ensure that this jet fuel is transported to OR Tambo.
