Ecopetrol provided an assessment this afternoon of the current availability of fuel at the country's air terminals. The situation in northern Colombia is worrying, where current levels of Jet A1 could be exhausted in one day, although production at the Cartagena Refinery is progressing normally, said the general manager of the state oil company, Ricardo Roa.
Air transport in Colombia is going through a complex situation due to problems in the logistics of jet fuel.
It has been learned that major distributors may limit jet fuel deliveries in the coming days, which is why several airlines are announcing measures that vary depending on fuel availability at different airports in the country.
On Monday, Ecopetrol President Ricardo Roa provided an update on Jet A1 fuel stocks at the country's airports and highlighted the availability problems experienced by terminals in the northern region (Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta).
In the case of Bogotá and El Dorado Airport, according to figures provided by Ecopetrol, the terminal currently has inventories of between 21,000 and 23,000 barrels of Jet A1 that would guarantee operations for the next seven days. The figure is encouraging, considering that the capital consumes 65% of the total demand for jet fuel in the country.
In the case of San José in Medellín, as of Monday, August 26, the Paisa terminal has 4,000 barrels of Jet A1, which would last for two days.
In Cali, the Ecopetrol director said that there is enough fuel for the next 18 days, as there are 20,000 barrels available.
For the Northern Zone, which includes the cities of Santa Marta, Barranquilla and Cartagena itself, figures provided by Ecopetrol indicate that the main terminals on the coast only have 7,000 barrels of jet fuel that would be enough for one day's operation.
“[On the Coast] there is a problem associated with daily capacity. Those 7,000 barrels are rotated, but that is the availability we have today. In total, there are 163,000 barrels of fuel to serve air navigation,” said Ricardo Roa.
Airline operators said the situation is critical at the airports of Valledupar, Bucaramanga and Pasto. The first two terminals are reportedly out of fuel, while in Pasto the Jet A1 is at critical levels.
Airlines also said there is concern about fuel inventory in Montería, Barranquilla and Cartagena.
The president of Ecopetrol stated that, to date, the availability of jet fuel in Colombia is between 95% and 96%, that is, it fell by nearly 5% as a result of the blackout that affected the production of Jet A1 at the Cartagena Refinery last Friday, August 16.
According to the director, availability will return to 100% by September 1, after the purchase of 100,000 barrels of Jet A1 fuel abroad. Roa reiterated that the Cartagena Refinery will operate normally this week.
Regarding the supply contingency, the Minister of Transport, María Constanza García, said that the supply of Jet A1 to the airports is assured: “There is fuel for the next few days, we are adjusting the logistics with airlines and marketing companies to ensure distribution. The situation is logistics. It is a delicate job to match supply and demand at the airports,” she said.
FLIGHT STATUS
In a statement, Chilean Latam Airlines announced several changes in its operations due to fuel supply restrictions at the country's airports. The airline announced that it will cancel 36 flights on Tuesday, August 27, with the aim of "optimizing the inventories that fuel distributors have declared to us until the end of the month."
According to Avianca, which yesterday highlighted that the problems at El Dorado were a calibration, ruling out an issue related to fuel, it has now been confirmed that there will be temporary restrictions on the sale of tickets to certain destinations.
For example, at midday on Monday, the airline's website did not allow the purchase of tickets on routes such as Bogotá-Valledupar or Bogotá-Santa Marta with flight dates between August 26 and 31.
Although some media outlets are speculating about an increase in the cost of tickets or airfares, for now the government has been vigilant in ensuring that passengers are not charged extra and that certain flights are not arbitrarily suspended.
