Cape Town Jet Fuel Squeeze Threatens Airport Flights

An emerging Cape Town airport jet fuel shortage is raising the risk of selective flight changes for domestic and long haul passengers using Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in late November 2025. A South African Revenue Service, SARS, audit has tied up part of the citys Jet A 1 buffer stock, prompting fuel industry groups to warn that some airlines may need to adjust schedules, tanker extra fuel, or add refuelling stops. Travelers should build in extra connection time and stay flexible on routings while the situation stabilizes.

In plain language, the Cape Town airport jet fuel shortage created by the SARS audit is shrinking the margin of fuel available to airlines, which could translate into targeted schedule tweaks for some carriers rather than a full airport shutdown.

How The Cape Town Jet Fuel Squeeze Developed

The immediate pressure on Cape Town fuel supplies stems from a SARS verification process that has left a large volume of Jet A 1 detained at Burgan Cape Terminals in the Port of Cape Town. The Fuels Industry Association of South Africa, FIASA, and local trade reporting say that the detained stock represents roughly 20 days of normal jet fuel supply that would usually act as a strategic buffer for Cape Town International.

Because those volumes are under customs review, at least one major supplier has been unable to uplift product from the Burgan facility for about a month, which has tightened the pool of fuel available to some airlines. FIASA stresses that it supports SARS compliance work, but warns that the extended duration of the audit is now undermining fuel security during the start of South Africas peak travel season and could affect tourism and the broader Western Cape economy if not resolved quickly.

Industry bodies also emphasize that this is primarily a regulatory bottleneck, not a physical shortage of jet fuel in the country. Fuel exists in storage, yet cannot move freely into the airport system until the audit is complete or alternative licensing arrangements are formalized, which is why they have called for SARS to conclude its checks or accelerate special storage and customs approvals.

What Airports Company South Africa Is Saying

Airports Company South Africa, ACSA, has taken a more reassuring tone. In a media statement and follow up briefings, the operator says that overall Jet A 1 supply at Cape Town International remains largely stable, that only one supplier faces constraints linked to outstanding SARS matters, and that four airlines have been directly affected so far.

To protect operations, ACSA and suppliers have activated contingency plans that include additional uplift at O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg. Airlines serving Cape Town can tanker in extra fuel from Johannesburg, where supplies are not constrained by the Burgan audit, then use that fuel to operate their Cape Town rotations while drawing less from the local pool.

ACSA has also stressed that Cape Towns fuel situation falls outside the primary G20 aviation planning zone for the upcoming summit. Officials say there is currently no risk to dedicated G20 related flight operations, which are being planned around other airports and reserved capacities.

This official messaging means travelers should not expect a full scale fuel crisis at Cape Town International. Instead, the likely scenario is a period where most flights operate normally, but a handful of carriers, or specific departures on particular days, face tighter refuelling margins and need schedule or routing changes to cope.

Which Flights And Airlines Are Most Exposed

So far, ACSA has named a single supplier and four airlines as directly affected by the rules glitch around fuel audits rather than a broad, airport wide supply collapse. Reporting in aviation trade press indicates that some international airlines evaluated options such as adding technical refuelling stops in Johannesburg or in regional hubs like Windhoek, although at least one European carrier has since confirmed that its Cape Town flights are currently operating nonstop under the contingency plan.

In practical terms, the highest near term risk lies with airlines that were heavily dependent on the constrained supplier at Burgan, especially on long haul routes where aircraft normally tank fuel in Cape Town for intercontinental sectors to Europe, the Middle East, or other African hubs. Those operators have less flexibility to simply accept partial loads or frequent top ups, because their missions run closer to the edge of range and payload envelopes.

Regional and domestic flights are also exposed, particularly busy sectors into and out of Johannesburg and Durban that already operate at high load factors. However, shorter stage lengths give carriers more room to manage fuel by adjusting payload, making use of alternate uplift points, or swapping aircraft types when necessary.

Travelers are unlikely to see a neat public list of affected flights, because the situation is dynamic and airlines will adjust their schedules and fuel strategies as conditions evolve. Instead, they should expect occasional isolated cancellations, equipment changes, or departure time shifts on Cape Town routes rather than a uniform pattern of disruption across all services.

Background: How Airport Jet Fuel Supply Usually Works

Under normal conditions, Cape Town International draws on a mix of imported jet fuel stored in coastal terminals and pipeline or road deliveries into the airport. Large import storage facilities such as Burgan Cape Terminals hold several weeks worth of supply that can be fed into the airport system as needed, while day to day uplift at the airport is handled by fuel consortia that allocate volumes among member airlines.

Customs and tax authorities like SARS oversee these flows through audits and verification checks, especially when fuel moves between bonded storage and domestic use. When an audit is routine and quick, airlines never notice it. When the process stretches out, as in this case, fuel that physically exists cannot legally move into the airport supply chain, which removes the buffer that usually protects schedules from shocks.

For travelers who want a broader sense of how South African aviation infrastructure issues can affect trips, this fuel story sits alongside earlier coverage of local navigation system problems and power grid load shedding that have, at times, raised reliability questions for the countrys airports and airspace. Adept Traveler will continue to link these themes together in future guides that explain how to plan resilient itineraries within South Africa.

Practical Planning For Travelers Using Cape Town

For passengers already ticketed to or from Cape Town International over the next several weeks, the most important move is to give yourself room. Whenever possible, avoid building itineraries around the last flight of the day on any leg touching Cape Town, and favour departures that leave space for same day rebooking if an aircraft needs to divert for fuel or a rotation is delayed.

Travelers making domestic connections through Cape Town, for example onward to Port Elizabeth, George, or smaller regional airports, should leave at least three hours between flights on a single ticket and more if they are on separate tickets. That buffer matters if a flight from Johannesburg arrives late because of a refuelling related delay or if an airline consolidates two lightly loaded services into one departure for operational reasons.

On international itineraries, consider routing in or out of Johannesburg when prices and timing are similar, especially if your carrier uses O. R. Tambo as its primary hub. Johannesburg currently has more robust direct access to fuel and is playing a key role in the contingency plan to keep Cape Town routes moving.

If you must connect through Cape Town on separate tickets, for example mixing a long haul arrival with a low cost domestic carrier, treat the current period as higher risk than usual. Either add an overnight stop between segments or upgrade to a protected through ticket that keeps the same airline responsible for your full journey.

Booking Strategies, Waivers, And Insurance

Airlines and regulators have not yet announced broad travel waivers specific to the Cape Town jet fuel situation, and many carriers will attempt to manage disruptions quietly with targeted changes rather than high profile cancellations. That makes it especially important for travelers to monitor their bookings directly through airline apps and websites, not just rely on third party booking platforms.

Where flexible or semi flexible fares are available at modest premiums, they may be worth the cost for trips in late November and December 2025 that hinge on tight timing, for example cruise departures, safari transfers, or fixed tour start dates in the Western Cape. These tickets usually offer same day or short notice rebooking options that are easier to use than generic customer service queues when schedules move.

Travel insurance is unlikely to treat a fuel audit alone as a covered peril, but policies that include wording around missed connections, carrier schedule changes, or extended delays may still be helpful. Travelers should read the fine print for references to supplier interruption or carrier initiated changes, and should keep documentation of any airline notifications or boarding pass timestamps that prove a delay was operational rather than voluntary.

Outlook For December 2025 Travel

Looking ahead, much depends on how quickly SARS and industry stakeholders can resolve the regulatory issues around Burgan Cape Terminals and whether special storage or customs licenses are fully activated to restore the 20 day buffer. Recent comments from FIASA suggest progress on interim licensing that would allow members to keep operating while the broader compliance framework is refined, but they still argue that the current workaround is not sustainable over the long term.

ACSA and airline statements indicate that fuel availability at Cape Town has already improved relative to the tightest point in mid November, and that additional uplift routed through Johannesburg from November 19 onward should shore up supplies for the rest of the month. However, until the audit backlog clears and the detained Burgan volumes are fully released or reclassified, Cape Town International will have less resilience than usual to cope with spikes in demand, unexpected diversions, or weather related schedule snarls.

For travelers, the practical takeaway is to treat the coming weeks as a time for extra caution rather than panic. Most flights are still operating, but the system has lost some of its safety margin. Building in buffers, staying close to airline communications, and being ready to pivot to routings via Johannesburg if necessary will go a long way toward keeping trips on track while the Cape Town airport jet fuel shortage works its way through the system.

Sources

• CPT fuel shortage likely to disrupt flights
• FIASA calls for urgent conclusion of SARS audit at Cape Town International Airport
• International airlines mull canning flights as CT jet fuel crisis continues
• ACSA reports stable jet fuel at Cape Town, G20 plans unaffected
• ACSA: Jet fuel supply stable at Cape Town Airport
• Cape Town jet fuel rules glitch disrupts airline operations
• Jet A 1 supply under pressure at Cape Town International Airport