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Jet fuel crunch looms over airlines

Waterways strike cuts supply line to Dhaka; airliners asked to avoid refueling in Dhaka

Reaz Ahmad
Amid a jet fuel crisis due to river transport strike, the civil aviation authority has asked pilots not to fuel aircraft at the capital's Hazrat Shahj alal International Airport till Friday noon.
The notice, which took effect yesterday, came after Padma Oil, the lone supplier of aviation fuel, warned that its stock in Dhaka has almost dried up as tankers could not bring fuel from Chittagong for strike in last four days.
Meantime, airlines fear they might have to cancel flights scheduled over the next few days forfuel crunch.
Shafique Alam Mehdi, secretary of the civil aviation and tourism ministry, last night confirmed issuance of the notice to airmen (NOTAM) by the aviation authority.
“We're in communication with Padma Oil and have written to the shipping and energy secretaries, asking for measures to restore fuel
FROM PAGE 1 supply,” he told The Daily Star.
He however would not comment on the potential fallout from the cut-off of jet fuel.
The NOTAM requests pilots to take sufficient fuel from departure aerodromes for their return flights so they will not have to refuel at the Shahjalal airport.
Saifuzzaman, head of flight operations at Saudi Arabian Airlines, last night told this correspondent, "There is no assurance of fuel here. We will have to cancel two of our flights scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) on Dhaka-Jeddah and Dhaka-Riyadh routes. And if the situation does not improve, we'll have to cancel three more flights set for May 13 and 14.”
Contacted, Padma Oil's Deputy General Manager Lutful Bari said, “We usually keep a stock of 2,400 tonnes of Jet A-l at our depot at Godnail in Narayanganj and transport up to 750 tonnes to Kurmitola depot every day for sale.
“As our tanker couldn't operate over the last four days, our stock has nearly run dry. So we have requested the civil aviation authority to take due measures.”
Asked why Padma did not take precautions, he said usually a waterways strike is withdrawn within two/three days.”We could not figure this time it would continue for such a long period."
Aviation sector expert Wahidul Alam fears such crisis might cause huge losses to the sector and sufferings to both Dhaka-bound and outbound air passengers.
“In such situation, the airlines have to cancel flights or operate by carrying cargo and passengers below their capacity or make intermediate stopovers in Bangkok or Kolkata,” he said.