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| Flight delayed over Hagen fuel shortage | |
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By HARLYNE JOKU AIR Niugini flight PX 180 that was to travel from Port Moresby to Mt Hagen was delayed for almost an hour yesterday morning due to fuel shortage in Mount Hagen. Passengers who boarded at 8.30am waited in the plane at Jacksonís Airport for about half an hour after the pilot announced that because of the fuel shortage in the Western Highlands capital, the flight would be delayed as the plane took on extra fuel. A Shell fuel truck supplied fuel to the plane before it departed Port Moresby at about 9.35am for Kagamuga airport. Air Niugini officials were not available for comments. On Tuesday, fuel supplier InterOil warned in a statement that Jet A1 fuel in Kagamuga was running out as a result of the landslide which blocked the Okuk Highway in Kundiawa. Huge trucks normally cart Jet A1 fuel, diesel and petrol up to the Highlands including Mt Hagen from Lae, along the Okuk Highway. That supply route is now blocked. InterOil is working out ways to ensure supply is not completely cut off, and could ferry Jet A1 fuel into Hagen from Goroka by helicopter. But before that happens, planes heading into Hagen and Southern Highlands province must carry extra fuel for their return trip, and that would mean reduced payload. Passengers can expect themselves and their cargo to be offloaded from time to time. |
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