Aviation State Minister assures sufficient jet fuel supply for airline operations

By Charumini de Silva

State Minister of Aviation D.V. Chanaka

State Minister of Aviation D.V. Chanaka yesterday assured sufficient jet fuel for airline operations, whilst ruling out any impact to industry from the ongoing forex and fuel crisis.

“We will receive a stock of 37,500 tons of jet fuel today. We have been informed that the Sapugaskanda oil refinery will resume its operations next week and from 27 January we will receive 1,000 tons of jet fuel daily,” the State Minister told the Daily FT.

The Sapugaskanda oil refinery temporarily ceased its operations on 3 January owing to difficulties in purchasing crude oil, as a result of the depleting foreign reserves. The refinery produces 20% jet fuel and has a production capacity of 10,000 tons.

“Once the Sapugaskanda oil refinery resumes operations we will get 30,000 tons of jet fuel monthly for airline operations,” Chanaka said.

The State Minister said they already have a buffer stock of jet fuel sufficient for the next one and a half months adding that they have the capacity to purchase if a need arises.   

He also pointed out that the national carrier SriLankan Airlines had been making upfront payments for all jet fuel purchases from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) for the past year.

“I am aware that it has not been the practice in the past, but we have started paying upfront from 2021 and will continue to do so. This way, we can ensure uninterrupted operations not just for the flag carrier, but also for all airlines operating into Colombo,” he explained.

In addition, he assured that SriLankan Airlines had made a payment of $ 32 million last week to the CPC for jet fuel purchase.

“Neither the flag carrier nor any other airline operating into Colombo have any impact on the ongoing fuel crisis. As the subject Minister, I have taken proactive measures to ensure that the operations of airlines will be carried out with no disruptions,” he stressed.