AAP
Jet fuel shortage to cause delays
September 25, 2003
FLIGHTS in and out of Sydney face delays over the next two days because of a shortage in jet fuel supplies, the fuel distributor said today.
The Sydney JUHI (Joint User Hydrant Installation), which stores and distributes jet fuel at Sydney airport, said it could only supply 35 per cent of normal demand for this time of year.
The distributor began rationing fuel at 11am today, on the eve of the NSW school holidays.
"The companies involved in the JUHI deeply regret this inconvenience, particularly during the school holiday period," a JUHI spokeswoman said in a statement.
"The situation will be monitored and reviewed on a twice-daily basis.
"The best estimate is for this level of rationing to remain in place for the next 48 hours."
The statement said the temporary jet fuel shortage was due to lower than planned production from Sydney refineries and delayed product shipment.
Full jet fuel production would be restored at Sydney refineries, it said, and a tanker shipment of fuel was expected to arrive in Botany Bay tonight.
"The JUHI participants are taking all possible steps to restore normal supply," it said.
"Each JUHI participant is working with its individual airline customers to determine appropriate supplies for domestic and international airlines in order to minimise disruption to the travelling public."
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said problems with the supply of jet fuel from Sydney refineries posed no threat to safe air travel.
AAP
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ABC News Online
Jet fuel shortage to cause national flight delays
ABC News Online
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s953851.htm
Sydney airport has revealed a major shortage of jet fuel which could delay flights across the country for at least two days.
The distributor of jet fuel at Sydney Airport, Joint User Hydrant Installation, says it can only supply 35 per cent of normal demand for this time of year because of lower than planned production from Sydney refineries and delayed shipments from elsewhere.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says problems with the supply of jet fuel from Sydney refineries do not pose a threat to safe air travel.
Spokesman Peter Gibson says airlines will very likely need to reschedule flights in order to pick up fuel at other airports, but there will be no compromising of safety standards.
"We do have coming up over the weekend the start of the school holidays with the potential problem of some disruptions but it is hard to say what the magnitude of that might be," he said.
Mr Gibson denied the shortage was due to fuel contamination.
"If there had been contaminated fuel delivered to aircraft then we would have a major problem but all the information at this stage suggests that's not the case, there are no safety problems."
Qantas says no domestic services will be disrupted, although some international services will be rerouted to pick up fuel on the way to Australia.
Virgin Blue says it expects to maintain a full schedule of flights into and out of Sydney tomorrow, despite the fuel shortages, by carrying extra fuel from other airport.
Sydney Airport says it regrets any inconvenience particularly during the school holiday period.
It said it began rationing fuel from 11am AEST and is organising additional fuel from interstate and overseas, with the first shipment due to arrive tonight.
The Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane says everything is being done to ensure the incovenience to airline passangers is kept to a minimum.
"It'll have some impact in terms of international flights but it is hoped that overall on the basis of the information given to us by the airlines that those impacts will be minimised," he said.
The jet fuel shortgage in Sydney is not affecting refuelling operations in Melbourne and flight cancellations are not expected.
Melbourne airport spokeswoman Brooke Lord says the problem is only in Sydney and planes arriving in Melbourne are being refuelled.
"There is increased demand for fuel in Melbourne because we have a number of jets coming in especially to refuel given the shortages in Sydney," she said.
"We have contractors on site that manage our joint user hydrants here, they have been fabulous in responding to the increased demand and they are managing it vey well now.
"They believe they will be able to manage this issue without too many delays and we are hoping that will be the case."
The Defence Force has been asked to be on stand-by in case of an emergency.
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