SPAIN is continuing to guarantee jet fuel supplies to air carriers despite the Iran war, with European operators looking at copying their measures in the long term.
There are have been some flight cuts across the continent but the bulk of services for the summer season are expected to continue as planned.
The state of Spanish refineries and the strength of its energy infrastructure have put the country in a stronger position than its neighbours.
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The Voxpopuli news portal reported that airlines and international operators are seeing what they could learn from Spain.
That includes investigating the scope of its refining and storage capacity.
Recently, the Secretary of State for Energy, Joan Groizard, stated that ‘the supply of kerosene is guaranteed’.
“Even if the border were closed tomorrow, the summer would be normal, “ he added.
Spain has eight refineries operated by Repsol, Moeve and BP, a network that allows it to face the summer in a more relaxed manner than countries that are far more more dependent on foreign refining.
The Preferente website says that the European Commission is looking into ‘energy solidarity’ measures so that countries with more refining capacity, such as Spain, Italy or the Netherlands, can support other European partners to boost fuel supplies.
The practice of ‘tankering’, where planes take on more fuel than needed to avoid refuelling at another airport has also increased.
EU rules normally limit this which obliges carriers to refuel at least 90% of the fuel needed for their operations, with the aim of reducing emissions and avoiding competitive advantages between countries.
Brussels says these restrictions can be relaxed if there are real problems with fuel availability at the destination airport.
That allows airlines to increase their kerosene loads in countries with greater supply capacity, such as Spain, if they fear difficulties in refuelling elsewhere.
But the Association of Airlines (ALA) says that no ‘tankering’ has been reported so far at Spanish airports.
The Spanish government has previously said that the priority is to ‘protect’ national supplies before helping other countries.
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