An additional 59 million litres of jet fuel is expected to arrive at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) tomorrow (Thursday, February 6) via the fuel pipeline as part of a logistics plan developed by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).
The logistics plan was adopted by Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy and fuel industry stakeholders such as Sasol and the Fuels Industry Association of South Africa in a meeting convened last Friday (January 31).
In a statement, the Department of Transport says, on February 1, opening stock at ORTIA was 20.1 million litres. Another 71.5 million litres of jet fuel will be imported into Durban via three vessels expected to arrive today (February 5) and next Monday (February 10).
The imported fuel will be transported to ORTIA via pipeline. Total available stock in February will be 150.6 million litres.
“This means there is no longer any shortage of jet fuel for refuelling airlines across ORTIA,” says the Department of Transport, highlighting the fuel industry’s agreement to establish a mechanism to share across contracted airlines so that non-contracted suppliers can supply any airline supplier that runs short.
Aaron Munetsi, Chief Executive Officer of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA), told Tourism Update’s sister publication, Travel News, that AASA is “cautiously comforted” by ACSA’s assurance that sufficient fuel stock has been secured for February. AASA is also “painfully aware” that, while ACSA owns the storage and refuelling infrastructure and equipment, it does not procure or own fuel.
Beyond the immediate crisis, AASA warns, jet fuel supply has become increasingly challenging in recent years. Munetsi says, since the COVID-19 lockdown, fuel suppliers have taken a very conservative approach to jet fuel inventory management, which has more than halved the average fuel reserves at Johannesburg from 11 days to around four days.
According to Munetsi, AASA is not privy to non-public individual supply contracts. However, AASA notes that the notice to air missions (NOTAM) imposing fuel uplift restrictions, including a ban on flights tankering fuel from OR Tambo International (A0237/25 NOTAM), remains valid until 13h00 on February 25 unless it is withdrawn before then.
“This suggests neither the fuel suppliers nor ACSA are able to guarantee the necessary volumes and that, until the shipments arrive at the OR Tambo International fuel storage depot, we should remain concerned about potential disruptions to operations,” emphasised Munetsi.
