Update 19 Dec: The fuel shortage at NZAA/Auckland due the contaminated batch has been resolved now (they got more fuel delivered).

New Zealand is facing a (hopefully brief) jet fuel shortage after receiving a batch which failed quality control testing.

What is the current situation?

On December 7, a fuel shipment into the main import terminal on New Zealand’s north island failed a quality check. The fuel was bound for NZAA/Auckland, the country’s main international airport.

The next fuel shipment is expected on December 18 and will hopefully resolve the temporary shortage.

How short is the shortage?

Airlines have been told to expect rationing at NZAA/Auckland. Initial reports suggest uplifts will be limited to 75% of an operator’s usual allotment.

However, it is not clear if other airports will receive reduced fuel supplies, with some diverted to support NZAA/Auckland or if the only airport affected is the main international one.

Air Centre One FBO at NZAA/Auckland has told us that World Fuel Services (WFS) has canceled all releases due to the current fuel shortage. Uplifts are still available via the FBO’s account which will be invoiced with your handling charges, but they are recommending refueling elsewhere if possible. WFS releases are apparently still being accepted at other major airports in New Zealand.

Here are the Notams we’ve spotted so far:

NZAA/Auckland B7158/22 - AIR BP, EXXON MOBIL/CHEVRON AND Z ENERGY JET A1 FUEL 
RATIONING IN PLACE. CHECK WITH YOUR FUEL SUPPLIER FOR AVAILABILITY. 
08 DEC 01:56 2022 UNTIL 17 DEC 10:59 2022.

NZWN/Wellington B7097/22 - Z ENERGY JET A1 FUEL (WESTERN APRON) NOT AVBL. 
06 DEC 02:33 2022 UNTIL PERM. CREATED: 06 DEC 02:33 2022

What should you do?

Speak to your agent or supplier at NZAA/Auckland and confirm what the allocation will be for you prior to operating in so you can plan accordingly.

Check with other New Zealand airport agents in advance if you plan to make fuel stops at them, since the fuel availability is not currently clear.

Look at fuel tech stop options if you are operating long haul, or consider payload adjustments to manage the reduced fuel uplift.

Tanker fuel if you are able to.

The fuel issue that has been affecting flights out of Auckland has been rectified and it’s back to business as usual.

NCRG/Rarotonga and NFFN/Fiji, which had also been rationing fuel have also resumed normal ops.

Hopefully that is the last that we will hear on fuel issues out of Auckland.

So what is the longest scheduled air route in the world at the moment? If you said Panama-Dubai, you’d be right – but only for a few more days. As things stand, the PTY-DXB route, all 7463nm of it, takes on average 17 hrs 30.

With the introduction of the Boeing 787, the number of routes around the 7000nm mark is steadily increasing, to the point that we’re probably going to have to stop calling them “Ultra Long Haul Routes”. They are becoming the new norm. United are operating a SFO-SIN route with the 787-9 at 7339nm, and LAX-MEL at 6905nm.

From March 1st, the longest route in the world will become Auckland-Dubai, operated by Emirates with a B777-200LR. The leg distance is 7668nm, and westbound this will be around 17 hrs 15. Use of the AUSOTS Track System and extension of UPR’s (User Preferred Routes) into the New Zealand FIR has allowed this route to work, so that UAE can select the optimum wind routing for much more of the flight.