He says domestic airlines were told late on Thursday night of the supply issues and that tankering fuel was required immediately.
“The problem with domestic airlines is that, if they tanker fuel, for example from Johannesburg, they will likely have to drop the number of passengers on the flight. This will mean impacting passengers, flying at a loss and potentially having to cancel flights,” he says.
“ACSA should immediately instruct international carriers to refuel elsewhere, like Durban or Johannesburg, and require all domestic airlines to tanker as much as possible without bumping passengers. This will help to preserve the fuel that is still available.”
He is concerned that ACSA will not act quickly enough, suggesting: ACSA should start trucking fuel to Cape Town immediately.
In December 2022 ACSA said jet fuel supply challenges experienced at O R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and in Cape Town were a thing of the past.
Stock levels at these airports dropped to alarmingly low levels at times during 2022. The supply chain to O R Tambo was hit by flooding in KwaZulu-Natal and a shipment delayed by high seas impacted Cape Town.