WELLINGTON: A jet fuel shortage debacle disrupting thousands of travelers in New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, would likely last for eight more days, an oil industry spokesman said on Wednesday.
The shortage has caused widespread disruption to air travel since the weekend, and comes only days before Saturday’s national election where infrastructure has been a hotly contested issue.
The government has set up an industry and government group to oversee the country’s response to the crisis, including government and Auckland Council agencies as well as Air New Zealand and private oil firms, Energy and Resources minister Judith Collins said on Wednesday.
Fuel industry spokesman Andrew McNaught said airline fuel rationing would stay in place until Sept. 28.
The mayor of Auckland sought to reassure residents that the city would not run out of fuel.
“The assurance I have been given is that Auckland City will not run out of fuel for petrol and diesel for the vehicle fleet, and that’s really important,” Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, told Radio New Zealand.
Government agencies have arranged truck deliveries of fuel after a damaged pipeline cut the supply to Auckland Airport, and have even synched traffic lights to help hasten the journey.
The fuel shortages would affect about 9,000 passengers’ air travel plans on Wednesday, Air New Zealand said. About a third of those would have their flights canceled, while others would face delays.
The airline has so far cut 41 flights, 15 of them international.
It lifted an earlier ticket sale restriction on longhaul international flights, but was still limiting sales on flights in the Pacific region, including to neighboring Australia.
The opposition Labour Party has used the disruption to criticize the ruling National government just days before the Sept. 23 election, with polls showing a neck-and-neck race.
“We were obviously vulnerable. Work should have been done to make sure we were more resilient than this,” Labour leader Jacinda Ardern told reporters.
So far, economists said, the country’s economy had not been significantly affected but that could change if the pipeline was not fully restored within the next ten or so days.
“Should the issue drag on for longer than that it may start to impact upon economic activity, though at this stage that is not the central case,” Sean Keane, a director at Triple T Consulting who works under the umbrella of Credit Suisse, said in a research note on Monday.
New Zealand jet fuel rationing to run for days; disrupts air travel
New Zealand jet fuel rationing to run for days; disrupts air travel
Trump discussing how to acquire Greenland; US military always an option, White House says
- Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States
- Strong statements in support of Greenland from NATO leaders have not deterred Trump
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his team are discussing options for acquiring Greenland and the use of the US military in furtherance of the goal is “always an option,” the White House said on Tuesday.
Trump’s ambition of acquiring Greenland as a strategic US hub in the Arctic, where there is growing interest from Russia and China, has been revived in recent days in the wake of the US arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States.
The White House said in a statement in response to queries from Reuters that Trump sees acquiring Greenland as a US national security priority necessary to “deter our adversaries in the Arctic region.”
“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal,” the White House said.
A senior US official said discussions about ways to acquire Greenland are active in the Oval Office and that advisers are discussing a variety of options.
Strong statements in support of Greenland from NATO leaders have not deterred Trump, the official said.
“It’s not going away,” the official said about the president’s drive to acquire Greenland during his remaining three years in office.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said options include the outright US purchase of Greenland or forming a Compact of Free Association with the territory. A COFA agreement would stop short of Trump’s ambition to make the island of 57,000 people a part of the US.
A potential purchase price was not provided.
“Diplomacy is always the president’s first option with anything, and dealmaking. He loves deals. So if a good deal can be struck to acquire Greenland, that would definitely be his first instinct,” the official said.
Administration officials argue the island is crucial to the US due to its deposits of minerals with important high-tech and military applications. These resources remain untapped due to labor shortages, scarce infrastructure and other challenges.
Leaders from major European powers and Canada rallied behind Greenland on Tuesday, saying the Arctic island belongs to its people.
