Senegal’s international airport hit by jet fuel shortage

Senegal’s international airport has called on airlines to ensure that planes have enough jet fuel for return flights, amid a kerosene shortage in the West African nation.

In a statement Monday night, Blaise-Diagne International Airport said that “unfavourable international conditions” and volatility in commodities markets had severely disrupted supplies of jet fuel.

The airport, near the capital Dakar, also directed incoming planes to ensure that they carry enough fuel to be able to make return flights. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has sent oil prices soaring worldwide. Russia, under stringent Western sanctions, is a major energy producer.

SMCady, the firm that manages fuel at Blaise-Diagne airport, said in a letter seen by AFP that it would be unable to fuel jets from Wednesday, for a period of about two weeks. 

However, airlines have reassured passengers that flights will continue as normal. The national carrier Air Senegal stated on Tuesday that its flight schedule would remain unchanged despite the shortage of kerosene.

A spokesman for Air France told AFP the same day that flights between Dakar and Paris are stopping to refuel in the Canary Islands.