The federal government had to deliver 33 million liters of kerosene to airports from emergency storage facilities Sperber got lost in Basel’s shoe store

The pipeline that brings jet fuel to Geneva airport is more than 500 kilometers long. It runs from Marseille to Vernier. From there, another line carries the kerosene directly to the airfield, where the jets are refueled.

But the amount of kerosene currently flowing through the pipeline is lower than normal. “Pipeline inflows and processing at the Cressier refinery are still limited,” the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES) writes when asked. This is an aftermath of the French refinery workers’ strike. They had stopped working in the fall and demanded a 10 percent pay rise—with success. The strike has now ended. Nevertheless, it will take some time for capacity to pick up again.

According to the BWL, Geneva airport is particularly affected by the lack of kerosene. So that the planes can still take off, the importers keep so-called mandatory stocks on behalf of the federal government. In extreme cases, these three months cover the need for kerosene. Due to the kerosene shortage, 33 million liters were removed from the mandatory stocks at the end of December. The tanks are still well stocked: 382 million liters of emergency supplies are still available.

In Zurich, the fuel comes by train

Zurich airport, which needs four million liters of kerosene every day, is not affected by the after-effects of the refinery strike. Because the fuel for Zurich Airport is transported by rail in eight trains a day with so-called tank cars to the Rümlang tank farm. In the summer, problems arose here because chaos reigned in European rail freight transport. Cross-border train traffic came to a standstill due to staff shortages, construction sites and signal failures. Trains were completely canceled or at least severely delayed.

The situation in rail freight transport has now eased. The Rhine ships, which are important for fueling Switzerland, can again load more diesel, petrol or fuel oil. Mandatory stocks no longer need to help here. Due to the low water level in the hot summer of this year, there were temporary bottlenecks. This was reflected in the freight rates: transporting a ton on the Rhine sometimes cost more than 200 francs, which was one of the reasons for the rising petrol prices at the pump. Now the price for shipment per ton is 45 francs.

Swiss has already raised prices

The fact that kerosene remains scarce has an impact on ticket prices. Because the airlines have had to pay massively more for fuel since the outbreak of war in Ukraine and have to take into account the extra costs. Prices are currently about 20 percent higher than before the war.

The Swiss airline writes that increases have been made to all prices worldwide in the past year. “We will continue to monitor market and competitive behavior and make necessary adjustments as necessary.” But if fuel prices drop again, Swiss is confident it could soon turn the other way. “In hardly any other industry, supply and demand, combined with competition, have such a strong, dynamic and rapid influence on prices as in aviation.” (cpf)