'Christmas wasn't cancelled' for travellers as jet fuel returns to normal

Jet fuel rationing for airlines at Auckland Airport is over just in time for the year’s busiest travel period to take off. Airlines had been operating with reduced fuel allocations, down to 75% of the normal amount, after the discovery that a shipment of jet fuel to Marsden Point was unusable. Fuel rationing had been expected to continue until Sunday, but by Thursday the situation had returned to normal. “We can confirm all fuel allocations on airlines at Auckland Airport have ended,” said fuel suppliers Z, BP and Mobil. “Individual fuel companies have informed airlines that normal jet fuel offtake can resume at Auckland Airport.” A replacement shipment of jet fuel was due to arrive on Friday, which would fill the supply gap left by the contaminated fuel. “The quality assurance processes in jet supply chain are very robust and these types of incidents where a cargo of jet fuel does not meet specification requirements upon discharge are very rare,” the companies said. “The investigation into the cause of the issue is complex and ongoing.” Extra jet fuel storage would become available at Marsden Point in the middle of next year.<br/>