Manchester Airport fuel problems resolved
05.04.08
Flights are operating as normal at Manchester Airport today after fears planes would be grounded by a fuel shortage. Jet fuel supplies from Shell have been disrupted since Wednesday because of quality problems at its refinery in Stanlow in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
The problems forced the airport to ration the use of its stored supply, and seek alternative sources of fuel. The airport also advised airlines operating short haul flights to fill up their planes before they arrived at Manchester, while long haul flights had faced a detour to refuel.
However, Shell said the problem was fixed and the airport confirmed today there were no cancellations and passengers should arrive as normal for their flights. A spokesman said: ‘Manchester Airport is operating as usual this morning with no delays or cancellations.’
A spokeswoman for Shell said there had been short-term problems with the quality of some fuel batches from its refinery but none of this fuel reached the airport.
The airport can store four million litres of jet fuel, but can use up to three million litres a day. It takes 12 hours to pump one day's supply through the pipeline from Ellesmere Port - it would take 1000 tankers to transport the same amount by road.
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