Heathrow affected by fuel curbs following fire at Buncefield depot

Heathrow affected by fuel curbs following fire at Buncefield depot

	Published : Sun, 18 Dec 2005 10:05 By : Phil Bateman Print this Story

LONDON: The recent fire at the Buncefield fuel depot at Hemel Hempstead has forced airport operator BAA Plc. to ration aviation fuel at London's Heathrow airport. The restrictions have led to at least some airlines like Qantas and South African Airways rerouting their long-haul flights to have refuelling stops enroute.

The depot provides nearly one-third of Heathrow's fuel requirements. BAA claimed its operations were otherwise close to normal although contingency plans are in force. It has sought additional supply from other three oil companies that provide the fuel to Heathrow and formally asked short-haul airlines to have additional fuel on board. It is not clear for how long the restrictions will be in force.

A BAA spokesperson said the contingency plans had helped the company to stabilize supply and demand for fuel and continue near normal airport operations for the 186,000 passengers that fly to and from Heathrow every day with minor disruption to some passengers and no cancellation of flights.

The fire occurred early Monday last following pre-dawn explosions, destroying most of the container tanks at the depot. It was finally put off on Tuesday.

While no official figures were available on how many flights were affected by the shortage, SAA, which operates from Heathrow to Johannesburg and Cape Town, said at least one flight -- leaving in the evening -- will be affected by refuelling en-route until further notice. Similarly, one of Qantas' four daily flights from Heathrow will have to stop at Stansted for refuelling.

According to sources the restrictions could be in place at least for weeks if not months.

The other depots that supply fuel to BAA are at Fawley near Southampton and at Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. The Buncefield facility is co-owned by Total and Texaco with Total operating it.