Acsa has reported that the aircraft refuelling system at OR Tambo International Aiport has been restored. However, industry bodies remained concerned about the reliability of the system after its second failure in two years.
The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) voiced concerns over the failure of the main valve in the refuelling system, which caused significant delays and flight cancellations at the start of the summer holiday season.
According to Acsa, the four-hour disruption affected some 483 flights, 49 429 passengers, and led to 31 flight cancellations.
Acsa has completed repair work on the valve, restoring the system to normal operations. It says that an emergency valve replacement is being coordinated to ensure the component’s continued reliability.
“Although AASA appreciates the efforts being made by Acsa to restore fuel supplies at what is Southern Africa’s busiest air travel and air cargo gateway, we urge ACSA to expedite the installation of the back-up bypass line that was promised as part of the fuel supply resilience plan after the previous main supply valve failure in December 2022,” AASA CEO, Aaron Munetsi, said in a statement.
Additionally, DA spokesperson for transport, Chris Hunsinger, has called on the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, to launch a full-scale investigation into the root cause of the fuel supply failure.
"We cannot simply celebrate that the fuel supply is back up and running, when the root cause has not been eliminated. A current, potentially interim fix is not good enough, if there is a serious and systemic risk of failure again," said Hunsinger.
According to Acsa, OR Tambo's fuel infrastructure has an extensive capital programme involving refurbishment and capacity-related projects, which are at various stages of implementation. The estimated value of these projects is R1,5 billion.
Since the last refuelling system failure 24 months ago, the main fuel valve has been replaced. However, Acsa determined that the whole system needed an overhaul. This, along with the installation of a bypass line, was delayed due to regulatory requirements including Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval, and Approved Inspection Authority (AIA) sign-off.
Other projects are being implemented to improve the reliability and provide redundancy of the fuel system, including:
- A new 1,8km jet fuel line between the tank farm and the aprons, for which construction will start in March 2025 and will be completed by March 2026.
- A nine-metre-long bypass mechanism will be completed by February 2025.
Acsa says its board will conduct a thorough investigation into the incident on December 9 and produce a report to identify the root cause, adding that appropriate actions will be taken to ensure a long-term solution to run in tandem with existing fuel line improvement projects.
