Fuel shortage causes long-haul delays at Heathrow

Passengers flying with a number of airlines from Heathrow are suffering delays as a result of the fuel shortage brought on by the Buncefield oil disaster, The Times reports.

Despite claims from airport operator BAA that "Heathrow has been able to maintain near-normal airport operations," several long-haul airlines admit fuel restrictions are regularly delaying their journeys.

Australian airline Qantas came clean after one of its planes was spotted at Stansted Airport - an airport it doesn't serve.

A spokesperson conceded that the plane was flying between Heathrow and Sydney and had been forced to refuel. The refuelling stop only affects services with the flight number QF2.

"We do have to touch down on the outbound flight for some services to take on fuel," she explained.

"It is only the QF2 which has been affected and it doesn't happen every day – it just depends on the amount of fuel we have at Heathrow."

The stop-off adds 90 minutes to the flight's time.

Passengers flying from Heathrow to Singapore with Singapore Airlines may encounter even longer delays.

Flights numbered SQ319, departing on any day except Friday, are having to refuel at Frankfurt, causing a delay of one hour and 45 minutes.

Having already restricted the fuel it allows airlines to take on board at Heathrow, BAA is working to find a mid-term solution to the problem.

UK-based airlines currently receive 82 per cent of their usual daily fuel allotment, while the figure is slightly lower for international airlines.

Heathrow's kerosene supplies are down by six million litres a day since the Buncefield depot went up in flames in December.

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