Posted on 03/30/2022 5:09:18 AM PDT by blam
We recently warned that Europe is about to be hit with an unprecedented shortage of diesel, as gas stations run dry of the vital liquid (according to the CEOs of the world’s largest independent energy merchants), but little did we know that the first actual crisis would hit in America’s own back yard and not just anywhere but the state synonymous with commodity extraction: on Monday, airport officials in Austin, Texas warned of an impending jet-fuel shortage amid a surge in travel to and from the state’s capital city.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, which is ranked No. 29 in the U.S. based on 2021 passenger traffic, issued a fuel-shortage alert on Monday and urged airlines to carry extra fuel or send in more supplies via tankers, said Sam Haynes, a spokesperson.
With 282 flights scheduled for today & 1,600 + more passengers flying out before 8 a.m. than we typically see, it’s a busy day at AUS.
While operations have returned to normal, we continue to ask passengers to arrive a minimum of 2 hours in advance now through early April. pic.twitter.com/5olg6JTaR0
— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) (@AUStinAirport) March 28, 2022
“The on-hand supply just isn’t enough to keep up with demand,” she said. “This is all a result of the tremendous growth we’ve seen” in the Austin area.
Haynes also said that the airport’s two fuel-storage tanks haven’t been expanded or augmented since it opened in 1999, and as a result, the Austin facility typically holds just one to two days of supply, less than half the five-to-seven days of fuel stockpiled by most airports of similar size, she said.
“We’re aware of fuel quantity issues at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and we are working to mitigate potential operational issues by tankering fuel on some inbound flights,” said Dan Landson, a spokesman for Southwest Airlines Inc., the airport’s largest carrier by passenger load.
The silver lining is that so far, no flights have been canceled or diverted as a result of the fuel situation. Meanwhile, the demand for jet fuel is soaring with the airport seeing more than 8,000 passengers before 8 a.m. on both Sunday and Monday, which is about 25% above normal, as citizens of bicoastal liberal utopias just can’t wait to get the hell out.
The crush of passengers was so dramatic that security lines stretched outside and onto sidewalks, and long waits meant many missed their flights, the Austin American-Statesman newspaper reported.
For now, the imminent fuel shortage hasn’t translated into actual groundings: according to Bloonberg, American Airlines’ flight schedule has not been affected by the shortage, a spokesperson said. The supply squeeze wasn’t expected to impact Air France-KLM’s inaugural non-stop flight to Amsterdam scheduled for Monday afternoon, Haynes said.
We expect that to change; we also expect that very soon many other airports around the country will suffer similar shortages as the US is hit with the worst supply chain crisis in modern history
Put up some wind turbines.
Welcome to the Brave New World. Enjoy the ride.
Weird.
Austin is liberal. So, the problem is? The less contact with the socially challenged, the better.
LGB
Good. Can’t wait for those battery operated commercial jets....military jets to for that matter.
and a long extension cord.
Tick, tick, tick,
Drip, drip, drip...
It is getting scarier by the minute...
And yet,
No one seems to get it.
What did 2022 say to the old year 2021?
They have enough wind already.
Easter travel is less than a month away...
LGB
~~~
If Biden is smart....... no wait, let me correct that amusing start to a sentence.... If Biden’s people are smart, they will find a way to get jet fuel to Austin, and anywhere else it’s running low. I know that the partisan media covers for him, but an airport shutting down because of lack of fuel is a bad look. It is third world optics. Hard to spin
Crap, I’m going there to see my brother on the 7th of April. Hope I can get back on the 11th!
“and a long extension cord.”
I have several excess extra long extension cords for sale.
I was going to put them out in a yard sale, but now they may be too valuable. Soo....
Only ten bucks a foot for the light duty ones (110 volt) and twenty bucks a foot for the heavy duty (220 volt)
Slightly used, but all come with an Oklahoma Warranty*
CALL BR549 for more information
Oklahoma Warranty*
If they break in half, you get to keep both halves
"Reading that made me think I was reading something straight out of Atlas Shrugged. Wow."
Management has likely decided for years to ignore the warnings from their fuel services staff that it was getting harder and harder to keep up with demand.
Hey we’re doing our best to keep in line with the cities’ motto of “Keep Austin Weird.” Enough jet fuel would make them normal. They wouldn’t want that to happen, do they?
Luckily we have been having high winds lately so they ought to be good to go if they are still working after the big freeze last year.
Increase the fuel price until traffic decreases to match fuel supply.
There is a straightforward market solution.
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