A major fuel shortage at Melbourne airport has frustrated passengers as airlines are diverted to other cities to refuel after "immediate and deep" rationing was enforced.
Fuel rationing was put in place on Thursday night after the national body for jet fuel supply changed Melbourne Airport's status to "black traffic light", the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia says.
Current fuel stocks at the airport, the second busiest in Australia, are believed to be 30 per cent below capacity after a recent shipment failed quality tests.
Qantas on Friday sent two Asia-bound flights via Sydney so the planes could refuel but says its domestic operations have not been affected.
Matt Smith, a chief tech officer at Software AG, says Cathay Pacific staff had told passengers at Melbourne airport that all long-haul flights from Melbourne would be sent via other Australian cities, which would add an hour and a half to their journey.
"Meaning if you connect (like me in Hong Kong) and have two hours or less - they are telling you there is no way you'll make it," Mr Smith told AAP via Twitter.
"Since when do major airports run out of fuel?"
Emirates says none of its flights out of Melbourne have been affected by the shortage, and other international airlines contacted by AAP had not responded by 6pm on Friday.
Airlines on domestic routes and short-haul international routes have been tankering fuel, a method by which planes take a considerably larger load of fuel into Melbourne so no more than a small top-up is required before departing the airport.
The operator of the fuel tanks at Melbourne Airport, ExxonMobil, said it was working with airlines to manage the rations.
"The supply issue has arisen following disruptions in recent weeks to jet fuel deliveries from multiple fuel terminals across Melbourne, which are in the process of being resolved," an ExxonMobil spokesman said in a statement on Friday.
BARA blames the lack of urgency to increase the capacity of the fuel supply chain, from refineries and seaport through to the aircraft at the airport.
"You need some headroom and some redundancy in the system to handle unforeseen or unplanned events," executive director Barry Abrams told AAP on Friday.
"Unfortunately, as demand has grown so close to supply, we don't have that level of redundancy that we need."
Jet fuel supply contracts are negotiated between individual airlines and fuel suppliers and supply is controlled by the Joint User Hydrant Installation Joint Venture.
"JUHI management has confirmed that there is no problem with fuel infrastructure at the airport and the facility is functioning normally," a Melbourne Airport spokesman said.
"Melbourne Airport further calls on all fuel suppliers to exert every possible effort to meet their commitments to airlines flying from Melbourne Airport."
Victoria's Minister for Energy Lily D'Ambrosio said she had previously written to all four suppliers of jet fuel, and to Melbourne Airport, seeking assurances around continuity of supply.
And she wrote in October to federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester to seek his immediate intervention, as Melbourne Airport falls under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth.
Mr Chester's office did not respond to questions but the minister tweeted that he was happy to meet with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to "work through jet fuel supply issues".
"But the Premier didn't call me in October : meeting request was made today," he tweeted on Friday evening.
Airport management is advising passengers to contact their airline for up-to-date information about their flights.
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