Fuel issues, not striking workers, cause massive flight delays at OR Tambo airport

Management at the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) have resolved technical problems that affected fuel supply at O.R. Tambo International Airport, which delayed flights on Wednesday morning.

Fuel supply problems

ACSA spokesperson, Samukelo Khambule said they experienced challenges with fuel supply from the storage facility to the main hydrant system.

This resulted in hours of delay for both domestic and international flights, causing major chaos at the airport.

“O.R Tambo Fuel Services Company (ORTAFS) used a manual system through fuel bowsers to fuel aircrafts,” said Khambule.

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There were reports of a strike and fuel shortage at the busiest airport, which were shut down by ACSA and the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula.

“I have been in contact with ACSA Management & have been assured there is no fuel shortage at OR Tambo Airport but a technical issue at the storage which has been resolved,” said Mbalula on Twitter.

Speaking to The Citizen, Airlink spokesperson Linden Birns said he was currently on a flight and was not aware of the issues at the airport.

“I have not received any messages on my phone about any problems,’ said Birns.

Monitoring situation

Khambule said the technicians have resolved the issues and are still on site to monitor the situation.

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