Jet fuel supplies at one of Africa’s busiest airports, OR Tambo International in Johannesburg, are running low as recent floods in Durban, a coastal and port city, created a backlog in the supply chain of imported jet fuel, which is normally transported from Durban to Johannesburg, a land-locked city.
The floods, among the worst to hit the province of KwaZulu-Natal, have left thousands homeless and caused at least R10bn of damage to infrastructure.
According to Aero Time, United Airlines and Malawi Airlines have been affected by the fuel shortage.
United Airlines canceled its Newark-Johannesburg legs on April 24 and 25, and has canceled return trips from Johannesburg for April 25 and April 26, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. United said the cancellations are due to “airport-wide fuel-supply issues”.
In a press release seen by local media, Malawi Airlines said its local fuel supplier is also experiencing fuel supply challenges which have affected Kamuzu International Airport (Lilongwe) and Chileka (Blantyre) Airport.
“This will adversely affect all our flight operations across our network. Do take note that the fuel crisis may take a couple of days to improve,” the airline said.
