Air Transport

The destruction of a major oil depot that provides one-third of London Heathrow’s Jet A1 fuel is likely to disrupt availability for several months until the resupply logistics are reorganised. All Heathrow operators have had their fuel quotas restricted by airport operator BAA, forcing several long-haul carriers to make technical stops to refuel.

The Buncefield depot north of Heathrow had been supplying about 35% of the airport’s fuel via two large-diameter pipelines, but was destroyed by an explosion on 8 December. Although the airport receives the majority of its fuel supply via pipelines from two other depots, the loss of Buncefield is a major handicap.

“We were selling more fuel than we were bringing in, so the airport operator invoked a contingency plan restricting everyone’s supply,” an aviation fuel industry source told Flight International. “It’s purely a logistical problem at the moment – the resupply routes need to be rejigged.

“All fuel has to be piped into Heathrow, but it is in the wrong location and is having to be moved around to get it into the system.”

The source says various initiatives have been launched to boost supply, including the reinstating of a rail-fed depot near the airport. “Things will get better as the month goes on, but it is likely to take several months before supplies are back to normal,” the source adds.

Foreign operators have been worst affected because they are entitled to only 64% of normal uplift, whereas locally based carriers have been allowed 84% of their normal fuel uplift for flights of 5h or more.

Cathay Pacific flights outbound from Heathrow have been making a fuel stop, when necessary, at Amsterdam, Singapore Airlines at Frankfurt, and Qantas at Stansted.

Short-haul operations have also been rationed, with Heathrow-based flights of less than 5h allocated 64% of normal uplift, and visiting carriers only 40%, but all have been making up their deficits by uplifting more fuel than they need for inbound legs.

MAX KINGSLEY-JONES/LONDON
additional reporting by DAVID LEARMOUNT