Fuel shortage hits Papua New Guinea airlines

Air Niugini was forced to cancel its domestic flights on December 1 due to a fuel shortage caused by an ongoing dispute between fuel supplier Puma Energy and the Bank of Papua New Guinea. As a result of the dispute, Puma Energy decided to restrict the supply of Jet A1 fuel to Port Moresby and all other airports in PNG from December 1, 2022. “Unfortunately, there is no alternative supplier of aviation fuel in most airports, including Port Moresby, ” the airline said. Consequently, Air Niugini had cancelled remaining domestic flights for December 1, was axing half its domestic schedule for December 2 and would have to continue cutting flights daily until Puma Energy lifted the fuel restriction. Fellow domestic carrier PNG Air made no announcement and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. International flights into PNG are unaffected. “Puma Energy has advised that they will continue to refuel international flights as normal,” Air Niugini advised. This means that international flights by Qantas from Australia and Philippine Airlines into Port Moresby were unaffected.<br/>