Like the Man of Steel (sort of), Qantas flew into Auckland Airport this week carrying extra barrels of fuel in order to minimise disruptions caused by fuel shortages.
The airline ferried some 65,000kg of the much-needed substance from Sydney to Auckland on a Boeing 747-400 along with another 10,000kg on a regularly scheduled A330-200 flight between the two cities.
Once in the Kiwi city, the fuel was distributed among Qantas and Jetstar aircraft due to operate flights the following day, Australian Aviation reported.
A spokesperson for the airline said the airline currently has no further plans to operate further fuel relief flights.
“By tankering in fuel from Australia, as well as other measures, Qantas and Jetstar have been able to minimise the impact of the Auckland fuel shortage on customers.”
Qantas Spokesperson
Qantas’ fuel deliveries were deployed five days after Auckland Airport’s fuel distributor, Marsden Point fuel refinery, located damage on a fuel pipeline.
As a result, the refinery has rationed fuel among airlines departing from Auckland, forcing operators to find alternative options to re-fuel aircraft.
Virgin Australia and Emirates have managed to avoid cancellations by re-routing their planes to alternative ports (mostly in Australia) for re-fueling.
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand has been required to cancel several international and domestic services and said in an online statement that it will continue to do so over the coming days in order to consolidate passenger loads.
The Kiwi carrier said it will also ensure domestic jets uplift maximum fuel limits out of Wellington or Christchurch in order to reduce fuel requirements in Auckland, plus it will divert long-haul services to gateways in Australia or the Pacific for refueling stops.
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