Manchester Airport's Fuel Tank Back To 'Full'

Fuel supplies at Manchester Airport returned to normal, airport bosses said last Thursday.

The interruption began the previous morning after the Essar refinery stopped the flow of fuel. The airport's only supply comes from the refinery via a pipeline which is capable of pumping 250,000 liters an hour.

A spokesman for Manchester airport said that supply was stopped due to the "poor quality" of the fuel, but failed to confirm why it was deemed unfit for usef.

A total of three million liters of fuel was supplied overnight to the airport's fuel storage facility and meant operations returned to normal, the airport said.

Thirteen flights were delayed because of the glitch, with 12 waiting for less than 30 minutes, while 17 departure flights also made a short stop at other UK airports to top up fuel before completing the onward journey.

Chris Formby, operations director at Manchester Airport, said:"Although we initially warned about the potential for some cancellations and diversions based on the information from the fuel companies yesterday afternoon, disruption to passengers has been kept to an absolute minimum thanks to the airlines and the Essar refinery.

He added a review into the incident would take place.

The airport uses around three million liters of aviation fuel per day. This is the equivalent of 79 road tankers, which carry approximately 38,000 litres per vehicle.