The after the country’s biggest airport faced a shortage of jet fuel brought on by disruptions from the floods that ravaged KwaZulu-Natal. 

Suppliers were unable to refuel during the April crisis that caused massive damage to infrastructure and left more than 450 people dead.

The shortage of fuel grounded some 14 flights and impacted more than 3000 passengers.

The airport authority is also believed to have lost thousands of rands in revenue from the grounded flights. 

On Monday, ACSA CEO Mpumi Mpofu addressed concerns of further shortages arising. 

“In the medium-term we are engaging the services of the Central Energy Fund (CEF) to consolidate the medium-term plan, given our new experience of the impact of floods and natural disasters and the security of supply.

“With respect to the rail repairs and the additional fuel for OR Tambo, Tranent freight rail confirmed that the current situation will be resolved with 50% of the rail line that will be restored by the 9th of June. The balance taking it to 100% will be restored in October of this year,” said Mpofu. 

Mpofu assured media a contingency plan would be put in place to avert another shortage. 

“The Central Energy Fund which we have requested to join this intervention will be able to invoke available legislative instruments to ensure energy security and I can confirm that they are working to provide an additional 1.5 million litres of jet fuel in the event that the mismatch of the supply and demand is experienced by an airline.”

Mpofu added lessons learned during the latest disaster will better prepare the company’s response in the future.

“In the meantime, we have committed to working together to establishing an operations room because we’ve learnt the lesson of a mismatch of information when one airline doesn’t know where to get fuel and we hope to completely overcome that.

“None of us would have anticipated these kind of impacts but we also understand that climate change is not going anywhere and by definition, our plans are not temporary, they would be plans we put in place for the foreseeable future in order to protect jet fuel’s security of supply but importantly, even protect the country against the potential negative impact of an increase in the price of fuel that comes as a result of the conflict in Eastern Europe.”

Jacaranda News