Major airport runs out of fuel as tourists face delays - flights cancelled
The airport joins others experiencing fuel supply issues.
A major airport in Italy has run out of fuel, leading to flight cancellations, according to reports. Brindisi Airport said on Monday it had run out of jet fuel and asked airlines to refuel elsewhere.
The airport was expected to remain without fuel until at least 2pm on Tuesday, according to a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) issued on Monday. However, Antonio Maria Vasile, president of Aeroporti di Puglia, which operates airports across southern Italy's Apulia region, insisted there was “no emergency regarding the availability of fuel at Apulian airports”.“Fuel supplies continue regularly and there is no risk of an imminent shortage,” Mr Vasile told Adnkronos. He said the disruption was caused by knock-on effects from problems at other airports. “In practice, aircraft arriving from Milan, Bologna and Venice refuelled in Brindisi, significantly reducing reserve supplies,” he said, adding that stocks are expected to be replenished today.
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The NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) issued by the Apulian airport advised airlines to refuel elsewhere until at least 2pm on Tuesday, April 7.
Reggio Calabria, where aircraft are limited to 3,000 litres of fuel, and Pescara, which has only one fuel tanker available, bring the total number of airports affected by restrictions to six.
According to Il Giornale, Pierluigi Di Palma, president of ENAC, said the shortage was temporary and linked to increased demand over the Easter holidays rather than the war in Iran or the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
He said the rise in Easter travel had exposed an existing issue with jet fuel supplies.
Other major Italian airports are also facing problems, with Bologna Airport, Milan Linate Airport, Treviso Airport and Venice Marco Polo Airport introducing refuelling restrictions following a notice issued by Air BP over the weekend.
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Normally, aircraft take off with only the minimum amount of fuel required, Di Palma said, because carrying extra fuel adds weight and increases costs.
He said that when some airports begin to run low on fuel, planes departing from those locations often take on additional supplies, creating a knock-on effect that can lead to temporary shortages elsewhere.
Di Palma added that the issue had affected some airports before but would not usually have attracted significant attention.
However, he said the knock-on effect across multiple airports, combined with the ongoing war, had heightened concern over the situation.
The ENAC president said Italy currently has around seven months’ worth of fuel supplies, with similar stock levels across the rest of Europe.
He said the problem is linked more to airport storage infrastructure than fuel availability, adding that investment programmes are already under way to increase storage capacity.
