Jet fuel crisis forces more flight cancellations

Friday, 20 Sep, 2017 0

Air New Zealand has been forced to halt ticket sales on some international routes due to an ongoing fuel shortage at Auckland.

More services were cancelled today, including flights to Australia, Fiji and Vietnam, affecting about 3,000 passengers.

The pipeline between a refinery and storage depot was ruptured last week, causing major supply shortages at the airport and local petrol stations.

Refining New Zealand said its pipeline will be fully operational again by September 24-26, and the airport will get fresh fuel supplies a day later.

"The government is continuing to identify and implement a range of measures to free up the movement of fuel to where it is needed, and minimise disruption to Kiwis and visitors," resources minister Judith Collins said.

"We’re moving on several fronts in transport to do everything possible to improve supply."

So far about 70 domestic and international flights have been cancelled at Auckland and all government staff and public employees were ordered to cancel all non-essential travel from the airport.

Airlines had been restricted to only 30% of their normal jet fuel allowance at Auckland Airport, while some carriers had got around this by making refuelling stops elsewhere.

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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