Ongoing fuel shortages have forced Mission Aviation Fellowship of Papua New Guinea (Mount Hagen) (MAF PNG) to cancel non-essential flights to western areas of the country, according to a December 12 media release.

"We are cancelling non-essential flying to be able to conserve fuel in the Telefomin, Tabubil, and Kiunga areas," said MAF PNG Interim Country Director Dom Sant. "This will allow MAF to continue to operate essential flights such as medical evacuations.”

While a shipment of fuel is enroute to Kiunga, delays mean it will not arrive until the first week of January and the flights will not resume before then. Papua New Guinea has ongoing issues with fuel supply. The country's sole provider, Puma Energy, ceased bulk fuel deliveries, interplane tanker services, and drum supplies in November. Another local operator, PNG Air (CG, Port Moresby), has also warned it may need to trim flights this month because of the fuel shortages.

Sant told The National newspaper that Telefomin, Tabubil, and Kiunga were reasonably remote and did not presently have fuel available there. He said the carrier was importing drum fuel to keep flying elsewhere but the imported fuel costs twice the price of bulk fuel supplied in-country.

While MAF PNG has sufficient existing drum supplies at its Mount Hagen, Goroka, Balimo, Madang, Tari, Wewak, and Vanimo bases, Sant said it was a logistical challenge to transport fuel from Port Moresby by ship or barge to Balimo or Kiunga, from where it was moved to truck or air to airports further afield.

"From Kiunga, fuel gets trucked to Tabubil, and then flown by MAF aircraft to Telefomin," he said. His pilots calculate fuel needs for each day's flying and generally rely on refuelling at various airports throughout the day to maximise payloads.

"With no refuelling options at present in Telefomin, Tabubil, and Kiunga, this will reduce service in the area," said Sant. "We are committed to resolving this issue as swiftly as possible and ensuring that operations return to normal."

MAF PNG operates a fleet of ten Cessna (single turboprop) 208 Caravans to some 200 airstrips around the country.