As many as 30 flights have been disrupted at Manchester Airport in the UK after it ran out of fuel, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The problem occurred when a batch of fuel was discovered to be contaminated and the line to the airport had to be temporarily turned off Wednesday.
According to the Daily Mail, the fuel supply at the refinery was restored at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, but it takes four hours for the fuel to get to the airport from the refinery before requiring time to settle. Though the problem was fixed last night, some airlines were not able to refuel until Thursday morning.
The event caused 13 flights to be delayed, though most only for less than 30 minutes, reports The Telegraph. One flight to Tunisia was held up for two and a half hours, however.
"Most of the flights are operating normally," an airport spokesman told the Daily Mail. "There were no cancellations, no diversions, and most of the airlines have made contingency plans for fuel."
Apparently it is "common for fuel to fall below the exceptionally high standards demanded by the aviation industry," experts tell the Manchester Evening News. In this case, the problem was more acute as the airport's reserves were already depleted from the busy Diamond Jubilee weekend.
Chris Formby, operations director at Manchester Airport, told The Telegraph that officials would look into the incident.