~ Incident will be investigated ~
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten was embarrassed again over the weekend when Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) did not have enough jet fuel from SOL Aviation to service private and commercial aircraft on Saturday.
As a result, PJIA was thrown into chaos around 5:00pm when fuel deliveries stopped, effectively grounding major airlines such as US Airways and Air Canada.
The Daily Herald understands that airline and airport officials had already enquired with SOL about the fuel situation after receiving word of a potential strike at the Petrotrin plant in Trinidad. SOL reportedly assured them on Friday that the provision of fuel would not be an issue over the weekend. Petrotrin and the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union in Trinidad reached a deal and averted any strike action on Friday.
Therefore, it is unclear why PJIA had no fuel to service aircraft. Angry passengers took to social networking sites lambasting the service in St. Maarten and the fact that an international airport could run out of one of its most essential resources. "The airport can blame the fuel companies, but what is the airport doing to make sure it doesn't look second-rate?" one passenger asked.
Minister in charge of the airport Theo Heyliger expressed similar sentiments. "For whatever reason, the airport has never addressed the present fuel farm on its premises which holds approximately 3,000 barrels. This is a clear lack of vision over the past years regarding fuel at PJIA," he said.
"Land and space need to be either acquired or exchanged in order to build a more adequate facility, one with approximately 20,000 plus barrels of storage. How long will we blame the fuel companies? PJIA continues to grow. Guess what? When we add new flights, that simply means more fuel is needed. PJIA has to act as well," Heyliger said.
He said he was doing his utmost to expedite's SOL's request for a building permit to build an additional storage at its Cay Bay facility.
In an effort to stem the loss of thousands of dollars, major carriers hastily made alternate flight plans that would take them to alternate, nearby destinations to refuel. Some airlines had enough fuel to go to St. Thomas, San Juan and Antigua. An airline like Air Canada, for example, had to overnight at PJIA until fuel could be provided on Sunday.
The Daily Herald confirmed that fuel had been delivered on Sunday and operations had returned to some form of normalcy during the day. It is not clear whether fuel shortages persist.
PJIAE said on Sunday that it would investigate this latest incident. According to PJIA Director of Operations Larry Donker, "PJIAE maintains close contact with SOL and moreover was informed via e-mail on Friday, February 17, 2012, at 3:39pm, of normal operations to be maintained throughout the weekend.
"Needless to say, the stock-out which occurred was a total surprise to us and the airport community. PJIAE was totally surprised by this sudden information and event which negatively affected the airport community operation, not to mention our mutual customers." Donker stressed.
Calling the situation "stressful," he further explained, "SOL received a fuel tanker on Saturday and the fuel sample was delivered to Antigua during the early evening for certification. This fuel was certified at approximately 2:00am, early Sunday morning, after which fuel was delivered to PJIA depot. Normal fuelling operation is expected throughout the day."
PJIA Managing Director Regina Labega, who is currently attending an airlines conference in The Bahamas, joined Donker in extending her appreciation to all airport partners for their support and patience.
This latest incident, she pointed out, "certainly exemplifies the need for performance standards," for which she had called when a similar situation occurred last month when SOL experienced difficulties in supplying the necessary jet fuel to its depot at the airport.
"For St. Maarten and for PJIA that claims to be the regional leader, this fuel situation is embarrassing and could result in lawsuits," one airline official said. "We lost thousands of dollars over the weekend as a result of massive incurred delays. This does nothing positive for the island's reputation, which is already expensive to fly to for the airlines. St. Maarten and PJIA must start looking at an alternate source for fuel, because their primary source is not dependable."
That sentiment was first expressed by veteran aviator Michael Ferrier in late December when fuel rationing had to be implemented at PJIA. The rationing lasted until the end of January when it was reported that all operations had been normalised.
Ferrier recommended that PJIA contract an alternative fuel supplier that did not source its aviation fuels supply from the same Trinidad and Tobago refineries as SOL and Texaco.
He urged PJIA and government to observe neighbouring islands such as Anguilla and St. Kitts that are looking at and, in the case of Anguilla, utilising other fuel suppliers.
Efforts to reach SOL Aviation proved unsuccessful over the weekend.
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