Jet fuel secured for OR Tambo International Airport

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The Department of Transport has announced that the fuel industry and its stakeholders have in total secured the 121.1 million litres of jet fuel needed at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA).

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This is until the National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (NATREF) refinery opens its doors at the end of February 2025.

Resolve jet fuel shortages

The announcement follows an urgent meeting convened by the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, last Friday with the relevant fuel industry stakeholders to resolve jet fuel shortages.

The meeting was attended by Airport Company South Africa (ACSA), the Fuel Industry Association of South Africa (FIASA) and SASOL.

The meeting was aimed at resolving the jet fuel shortages that were threatening to disrupt flight operations at OR Tambo International Airport in February 2025.

The anticipated fuel shortages was as a result of the shutdown of the National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (NATREF), which caught fire on 4 January 2025.

This led to some airlines having to make alternative arrangements to secure fuel at Windhoek, King Shaka Airport and other destinations at considerable inconvenience to passengers and crew.

On Monday last week, the fuels industry indicated to ACSA that it had secured 50 million litres of jet fuel from various suppliers and on Friday an additional 71.1 million litres were secured which brought the total to 121.1 million litres of jet fuel for OR Tambo.

Expected to arrive in early February

The above total will be imported through the Port of Durban via three vessels expected to arrive on 1 February and 10 February 2025.

“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,” the Department of Transport said in a statement.

An update on these logistics plans will be presented to the Minister on Friday, 31 January 2025.

“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,” the department said.

In this regard ACSA will engage the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources and its entities.

The Minister expressed her appreciation to passengers, businesses and stakeholders for their patience during this period of “unforeseen difficulty” and apologised for the inconvenience caused.