Johannesburg: The Department of Transport has announced that the fuels industry and its stakeholders have in total secured the 121.1 million litres of jet fuel needed at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA). This supply is expected to suffice until the National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (NATREF) refinery resumes operations at the end of February 2025.

According to South African Government News Agency, the announcement follows an urgent meeting convened by the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, last Friday with relevant fuel industry stakeholders to address jet fuel shortages. The meeting, attended by Airport Company South Africa (ACSA), the Fuel Industry Association of South Africa (FIASA), and SASOL, aimed to resolve the shortages that threatened to disrupt flight operations at OR Tambo International Airport in February 2025.

The anticipated fuel shortages were due to the shutdown of the NATREF refinery, which caught fire on January 4, 2025. This incident led some airlines to make alternative arrangements to secure fuel at Windhoek, King Shaka Airport, and other locations, causing significant inconvenience to passengers and crew.

On Monday last week, the fuels industry informed ACSA that it had secured 50 million litres of jet fuel from various suppliers. By Friday, an additional 71.1 million litres were secured, bringing the total to 121.1 million litres for OR Tambo. This supply will be imported through the Port of Durban via three vessels expected to arrive on February 1 and February 10, 2025.

The Department of Transport stated that the meeting agreed on a logistics plan to ensure the timely movement of the imported fuel supply from the Port of Durban to OR Tambo to meet airline needs. An update on these logistics plans will be presented to the Minister on Friday, January 31, 2025.

The department also noted that parties agreed on the necessity 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. For this purpose, 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 difficulty and apologized for the inconvenience caused.