The Italian airports of Milan Linate, Venice Marco Polo, Bologna and Treviso, in the north of the country, will apply restrictions on the supply of fuel for commercial flights until April 9 due to “limited availability” by the operator Air BP Italia. The contingency specifically affects the supply of Jet A1, a kerosene-type fuel used in civil aviation and in aircraft that operate at commercial airports and air bases.
The situation has become known after the issuance of several official notices to navigators (NOTAM), in which airlines are warned that refueling for operators contractually linked to Air BP Italia is subject to limitations. To guarantee the operation of essential services, an order of priority in supply has been established that gives preference to ambulance flights, State flights and long-distance routes with a duration of more than three hours.
For the rest of commercial operators, the airports of Venice, Treviso and Bologna have set a maximum limit of 2,000 liters of fuel per aircraft. In the case of Venice Marco Polo Airport, the technical advisory urges pilots to “calculate sufficient fuel from the previous airport for the following flight segments.”
For the moment, Air BP Italia – a subsidiary of the British energy giant BP – has not detailed the exact causes that have caused these limitations in the supply chain in the north of the country, although sources in the sector consulted by local media point to specific logistical problems.
France runs out of fuel at 12% of gas stations
The effects of the conflict do not end here. For example, in France, 12% of its gas stations have run out of some of the fuels they usually sell, according to government data, which insists that this does not mean that there are supply problems or shortages. Specifically, sources from the Executive insisted this Monday that this percentage, which was the one found on Saturday, April 4, the last for which there is updated data, is due to “local and specific logistical tensions concentrated at TotalEnergies gas stations.”
The reason is an “infrequent influx” in the network of service stations of the oil giant, which in the midst of political pressure to impose additional taxes and even to nationalize the company, has set price caps until April 7 of 1.99 euros per liter for gasoline and 2.09 euros per liter for diesel in France.
These limits, which are applied at the 3,300 TotalEnergies gas stations (a third of the total in France), are clearly below the average price in the country (2,307 euros per liter of diesel and 2,014 euros for gasoline this Sunday). In addition to launching this commercial gesture, the company stressed that it applies a “transparent pricing policy, which consists of promptly affecting any fluctuation, both downward and upward, in the international costs of diesel and gasoline.”
The 12% in which some fuel has been used up does not include those service stations where there is some type of gasoline, even if there is not all that is usually sold. Nor those that are closed for reasons independent of fuel supply.
In recent days, the French Government has presented several selective aid measures so that certain groups (farmers, fishermen, people who benefit from a subsidy for energy bills) can face the escalation in fuel prices, with a limited cost, estimated at 130 million euros.
Above all, he has warned that he will not be able to implement a massive plan like the one launched with the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, taking into account the very delicate situation of his public finances, and that any additional spending will be accompanied by an equivalent cut in another budget item.
Thailand expands teleworking in government agencies
The Prime Minister of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul, announced the extension of measures to reduce energy spending, including teleworking, to all government agencies, given “the risk of an energy crisis”, in the face of uncertainty in supply derived from the war in the Middle East. “We must increase awareness and understanding of the situation and find ways to manage national oil resources to minimize the impact on our citizens,” Anutin said in a Facebook post.
Thailand, which had already asked some officials to implement remote work, is a country highly dependent on oil from the countries of the Persian Gulf, and is suffering the effects of the blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, in the midst of the United States and Israel’s war against Iran. This route channels around 20% of the world’s crude oil in peacetime, and has become one of the main sources of tension in the conflict in the Middle East.
In addition to the measures for the public sector, the Thai leader also requested the collaboration of private companies to reduce the use of private vehicles. “The problems that many countries will face not only include the increase in oil prices, but also the increasing difficulty in importing it,” Anutin stressed.
The Thai Government assured on March 17 that it had crude oil reserves for about 100 days. Energy saving policies coincide with the hottest season in Thailand, when household electricity consumption skyrockets largely due to the increased use of air conditioners.
Other Southeast Asian countries have also taken similar measures to try to address rising fuel prices, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Nepal reintroduces two holidays a week
On the other hand, Nepal reintroduced this Sunday a system of two holidays a week for all government offices and educational institutions, a measure that will come into force on Monday in an attempt to address persistent fuel shortages due to the conflict in the Middle East.
“The measure aims to reduce high oil consumption and help manage fuel supply problems,” government spokesman Sasmit Pokhrel said at a press conference this Saturday.
Until now Nepal only had one holiday a week, Saturday, but this decision resumes a similar measure adopted in 2022, when the authorities introduced the two-day holiday weekend as a test due to the rise in global oil and gas prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The decision was reversed weeks later amid public criticism and concern that the reduction in working days was affecting the delivery of services in government offices.
This was not the only precedent, since the country had already experimented with two-day rest approximately two and a half decades ago with the aim of improving the efficiency and productivity of employees, although it was also scrapped a few months after not obtaining the expected results.
In a related move, the cabinet has decided to prepare a legal framework to facilitate the conversion of petrol and diesel vehicles into electric ones. On Friday, authorities also raised oil prices for the third time in less than a month, citing rising international tariffs.
The state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation increased the price of gasoline and diesel by 15 rupees ($0.10) per liter each. After this latest revision, gasoline now costs Rs 202 ($1.36) per liter in Kathmandu, while diesel stands at Rs 182 ($1.22) per liter.
