ENTEBBE RUNS OUT OF JET A1 FUEL, AGAIN
In another stunning development has Entebbe International Airport once again run out of jet fuel, causing airlines to implement emergency planning measures to find fuel enroute to or from Uganda. Tomorrows South African Airways flight has already been scheduled to fly home to Johannesburg via Nairobi, to take fuel on board there, and other airlines too are said to be scrambling to liaise with their flight operations departments to either carry additional fuel on board when coming to Entebbe, a costly proposition considering the added weight, or else having to incur the cost of technical landings en route to refuel for a flight to the final destination.
Aviation sources have expressed their anger and frustration with Shell, but also with the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority, which licenses the fuel depots operators and managers, for again failing to avail enough reserves of jet fuel. Other sources from the Kajjansi airfield, regular sufferers of Shells erratic supplies of AVGAS, have opted not to comment, which in itself is comment enough of what they think of Shell and Totals professionalism and ability to do their jobs right.
That said, another source close to the regulators in Entebbe, made no sense when saying: with all the new flights coming to Entebbe now it is a bit of a problem to have enough fuel, especially considering that it is the very CAA which is promoting Entebbe as an airport of choice and has finally been managing to bring in new airlines, only to see them suffer by finding no fuel, for the umpteenth time. Frustration galore plus passengers upset for the added time needed to land elsewhere in search of fuel, potentially causing missed connections at the other end of a flight. Watch this space!
