The largest airport in the United Kingdom has requested British Airways and other airlines to avoid refuelling at Heathrow. Airlines have been asked to take less from Britain’s busiest airport and to carry as much fuel as possible in their tanks owing to supply problems, and to also reduce the amount of fuel they need at the site owing to constrained supply issues.
Heathrow Airport has requested airlines via a notice sent on Sunday, to carry excess fuel on the way to London, and also to avoid carrying too much when departing. The notice covered nine days from Sunday, 23rd July and Monday 31st July owing to constrained supply in an aim to reduce the quantity of fuel they get from Heathrow during this period. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/25/heathrow-airlines-excess-fuel-passengers-flights
The airport reassured passengers that flights would remain unaffected, although Heathrow did not point to any specific causes of the issue.
A spokesman said that the airport had sufficient fuel supplies and that passengers could be reassured that their flights would continue to operate as normal.
Fuel arrives via underground pipelines at the West London airport, and is then delivered to one of two facilities, while some fuel is also delivered by truck. The supply of fuel is handled by Heathrow Hydrant Operating Company and Heathrow Airport Fuel Company, both owned by consortiums of oil companies, and Heathrow airport does not have any day-to-day control over it. Trucks and a pipeline supply the airport, with the latter being directly connected to the largest refinery in Southampton. The demand for fuel for Heathrow is so large that it requires a constant supply transported via pipeline from the UK’s largest refinery, ExxonMobil’s Fawley refinery. It takes in as much as 2,000 shipments of crude oil a year, which is distilled into petrol and diesel for automobiles and lorries, as well as jet fuel and chemicals for use in industry. A replacement pipeline is being built by ExxonMobil to the airport. https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/1021606/british-airways-other-airlines-asked-to-avoid-refuelling-at-heathrow-1021606.html
Overfueling aircraft is a common practice among the aviation industry, as it could save costs by permitting operators to fill up at cheaper locations, while also increasing carbon emissions from flights.
The international aviation industry is already struggling with its reputation on the environment, and since poorer countries grow wealthier, forecasters expect global demand for air travel to soar. So far manufacturers have not been able to build a plane capable of long-range travel without emitting carbon into the atmosphere. Airlines and airports such as Heathrow are beginning to use so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) which is still in short supply, and produces net zero emissions because it is manufactured from plants or carbon captured from the air.
British Airways, Heathrow’s main operator was among companies exposed as having been previously practising the process called tankering regularly since 2019. The Times reported last month, that British Airways had responded by promising to review the practice after a BBC Panorama investigation.
The practice of fuel tankering is controversial since it significantly increases the weight of kerosene stored in the wings of the aircraft, and that extra weight increases the amount of fuel burned on a flight, and hence its carbon footprint. It could however be financially worthwhile for airlines despite the extra cost and carbon emissions, if fuel is cheaper at one airport than at another.
The Airbus A320, the world’s best-selling plane, has the capacity to carry upwards of 24,000 litres of fuel weighing 19 tonnes in tanks in its wings and the main body of the plane while not all of the capacity would be required for shorter routes.
The airport declined to comment on the cause of the supply issue and did not point to any specific causes of the issue.
