Air NZ turns to Wellington for fuel-crisis help
Air New Zealand has begun restricting ticket sales and flying long-haul jets to Wellington to refuel, as the impact of Auckland’s jet fuel crisis deepens.
Thousands of passengers a day are facing disruption to their travel plans as airlines are forced to cut their fuel uptake from Auckland Airport to just 30 per cent of normal.
Regular supplies to Auckland have been cut after the 168km-long pipeline that carries virtually all of the region’s jet fuel, petrol and diesel from the Marsden Point oil refinery was damaged – apparently by a digger.
While pipeline owner Refining NZ is racing to fix the problem, the fuel supply is expected to be offline for up to another week.
Today, fuel companies and the affected airlines will meet to discuss whether even more stringent fuel-rationing is needed.
Since the problem began last Thursday, the airlines have been going to extraordinary lengths to save fuel in Auckland.
An Air New Zealand 777-200 – empty apart from pilots – touched down in the capital last night, purely to refuel, before the aircraft returned to Auckland.
Previous Air New Zealand longhaul flights had made refuelling stops in Fiji and New Caledonia and on the east coast of Australia.
The Wellington stop came amid concerns the crisis has depleted aviation fuel stocks in the Pacific.
While Wellington Airport’s runway is not long enough for longhaul travel, a fully laden 777 can take off if it has no passengers or cargo aboard. The giant Boeing was one of about a dozen jets to make unexpected stops there yesterday, before returning to Auckland or carrying on to Australia and the Pacific.
The airline has begun refusing cargo, and limiting ticket sales on many international flights.
More than 20 domestic and international flights had to be cancelled, including flights to Vietnam – the first long-haul service it has cancelled.
A number of long-haul airlines have been flying from Auckland to Christchurch to refuel before continuing to their destination.
The Government, which has been repeatedly warned of the vulnerability of Auckland’s supply, has announced a raft of measures in a bid to ease demand.
Public servants have been ordered to defer non-essential travel until after the issue is resolved, while Prime Minister Bill English has even asked his caucus to stay in their electorates.
About 30 per cent of flights out of Auckland are now being disrupted, English said. ‘‘We’re taking this very seriously. We don’t want travellers to be inconvenienced in this way.’’
He claimed the crisis ‘‘happens to have arisen in a way that no-one expected but that’s how these things happen’’.
Meanwhile, there were the first signs of disruption to motorists yesterday, with at least 13 Z Energy sites running out of premium-grade petrol. The company insisted the shortage was as a result of a deliberate choice to focus on petrol and diesel.
Restrictions have been lifted to allow fuel tankers to carry more fuel and deliver 24 hours a day, to prevent disruption to motorists.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said the incident could damage New Zealand’s reputation, and it threw attention onto well-known vulnerabilities in the city’s infrastructure.
‘‘It’s not great for the reputational brand for New Zealand or Auckland,’’ Goff said, adding that the consequences of the outage were ‘‘dramatic’’.