Airlines hit by bad aviation fuel in Wellington again

Airlines have been hit by another problem with fuel in Wellington in the lead-up to Christmas. Air New Zealand says it will have to cut back on fuel it takes on at Wellington Airport by 25% until Christmas Day. The airline’s chief operational integrity and safety officer, David Morgan, said it did not expect any disruption as a result. The fuel company consortium supplying Wellington Airport says the “matter is being addressed with the highest priority.” Airlines were hit by a bad batch of aviation fuel in Auckland in the lead-up to Christmas last year, which did lead to disruption. Morgan said a fuel shipment that arrived in Wellington on December 14 was found to be off specification after failing freeze-point tests. Because of this, Air New Zealand will be running at 75% fuel allocation until 12am on December 25. The next scheduled fuel delivery is expected on January 1 with the fuel ready for use on January 3, “test results pending”, Morgan said in a statement to the Herald.<br/>