Millions of litres of jet fuel secured to address OR Tambo shortage

The transport department has secured 121.1 million litres of jet fuel for OR Tambo International Airport after interventions to address critical shortages.

This follows last week’s urgent meeting between Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa), the Fuel Industry Association of South Africa, and Sasol to find a solution to the crisis caused by a fire at the Natref refinery earlier in January.

Several aircraft could not refuel, leaving passengers stranded and forcing airlines to make alternative arrangements to secure fuel at Windhoek in Namibia, King Shaka Airport in Durban and other destinations. This caused inconvenience to passengers and crew.

Fuel import

Transport department spokesperson Collen Msibi said the fuel will be imported through the port of Durban via three vessels and is expected to arrive in February.

“The meeting agreed that all parties will work on a logistics plan to ensure the imported fuel supply moves from the Port of Durban to OR Tambo in time for airline needs. An update on these logistics plans will be presented to the Minister on Friday, 31 January 2025.

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“Parties agreed it is necessary to build a fuel reserve to serve as a critical safety buffer for unforeseen circumstances such as delays, diversions, or unexpected changes in flight conditions. In this regard, ACSA will engage the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources and its entities,” Msibi said.

Fuel shortages

Creecy has expressed her appreciation to passengers, businesses, and stakeholders for their patience during this period of unforeseen difficulty and apologised for any inconvenience.

In December, 70% of national flights were delayed due to fuel shortages.

Passengers at OR Tambo International Airport were left stranded when airlines could not refuel aircraft as normal.

The refuelling issues at ORTIA then led to passengers at other airports across the country being unable to catch their flights. The reason for this was that planes were stuck in Johannesburg.

The backlog of flights led to some airlines having to delay or cancel their scheduled flights.

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