Airport fuel 'being replenished'
An aviation fuel supply problem at a busy international airport appeared to have been solved - but passengers were warned that their travel plans could still be disrupted in the short term.
Manchester airport said it had been told that refinery production was now back to normal, but fuel supplies would not be fully restored until 8.30am on Thursday.
Earlier it warned that some airlines might not be able to refuel at the airport, and that some might decide to cancel, divert or delay some flights, though shortly after 6pm it said there had been no disruption so far.
The airport continued to advise passengers travelling to check with their airlines before going to the airport.
The facility's fuel supply comes from the Essar refinery near Ellesmere Port on Merseyside. It uses around three million litres of aviation fuel per day. This is the equivalent of 79 road tankers which carry approximately 38,000 litres per vehicle.
The fuel supply comes from the refinery via a pipeline which is capable of pumping 250,000 litres an hour.
The fuel storage centre at Manchester Airport is operated by MASHCo - a joint venture between Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP and Q8. The oil companies are contracted directly by airlines to supply aircraft fuel via MASHCo.
Later, Manchester airport said that the Essar refinery had confirmed that fuel supply stocks to the airport were now being replenished and would be restored by Thursday morning.
The airport went on: "Disruption has been kept at a minimum and so far no flights have been cancelled or diverted. We would still advise passengers travelling this evening to check their flight status with the airline before coming to the airport."
An airport spokesman later said: "We are going to get through this evening with no disruption, but a handful of flights, perhaps five of them, may be delayed by up to an hour in the morning. The fuel supply from the refinery came back on at 5.30pm, it takes four hours for the fuel to get from the refinery to the airport, and it will then need time to settle. It will be released on to the airfield to the hydrants at 8.30am."
