At Blaise-Diagne International Airport (BDIA) in Dakar, aircraft refuelling operations will no longer be allowed to continue from 12 noon on Wednesday 20 April 2022 and for the next 15 days. This decision by the Aviation Fuel Handling Company (SMCADY) is the result of “unfavourable international conditions”. Thus, it calls on airlines landing at Dakar airport to ensure their own fuel supply for return flights.
The war in Ukraine has not spared any country from its impacts. Faced with the uncontrollable rise in fuel prices, some airports have decided to live on national reserves. This is the case of Senegal. Dakar International Airport reports that the “unfavourable international situation and unprecedented pressure on the prices of certain raw materials” is disrupting “the paraffin supply system”.
Dakar’s Blaise-Diagne International Airport (BDIA) has been hit by a terrible shortage of kerosene. This situation can be explained by an unfavourable international situation, i.e. an unavailability of aviation fuel (kerosene). As a result, landing airlines are now obliged to plan their fuel supply for return flights. Senegal reserves its fuel stock for its national airline and for military flights.
Kerosene mainly reserved for the national airline and military flights
According to Dr. Kaly Niang, director of communication and cooperation at BDIA, SMCADY informed the airport director, Doudou Kâ, that it only had a short reserve of 2,800 m³ of fuel. Indeed, this quantity of kerosene is reserved only for the army and the national airline, Air Senegal, which is however recommended to fill its tanks at its destination airports. All other companies are therefore called upon to take measures to adapt to the situation.
Costly supply solutions for foreign companies
A total of 23 airlines landed on the DBIA tarmac in March, including three cargo companies. Urgently, a way out had to be found. It is true that there are solutions available to these companies, but in any case, the options will be very expensive for them. Air France, for its part, is planning “a technical stopover at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria airport on the return flights to complete the refuelling” said one of its spokespersons.
Moreover, Senegal is not alone in this case. In Martinique and Guadeloupe, planes are also suffering from a lack of kerosene, due to the resumption of flights and the war in Ukraine. But according to several concordant sources, the situation is being resolved. Let this be a lesson to the surrounding countries to prepare cost-effective solutions for these eventualities.
