Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has gifted a tanker to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) so that aircraft at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) can be refuelled expeditiously. The refuelling vehicle is expected to arrive Monday.

A shortage of tankers at the country’s sole international airport has led to flights being held up due to refuelling delays. NOC maintains a depot at TIA to provide aviation fuel to both domestic and international airlines.

NOC spokesperson Birendra Kumar Goit said IOC would be providing a refuelling vehicle with a capacity to carry 27 kilolitres of fuel. “We will be receiving the vehicle on Monday which will be used to carry fuel mainly for international flights at TIA,” said Goit. He added that the Indian oil supplier was sending the vehicle in response to NOC’s request for assistance.

NOC currently maintains a fleet of seven tankers at TIA to refuel aircraft: two with a capacity of 27 kilolitres, four with a capacity of 16 kilolitres and one with a capacity of 11 kilolitres.

“We are having a hard time fulfilling demand at the airport because we are short of vehicles,” Goit added.

NOC uses the 11-kilolitre tanker to refuel helicopters. Similarly, two 16-kilolitre tankers are set aside for domestic carriers. The rest of the tankers are used to refuel international flights.

Goit said NOC was planning to buy another 10 tankers of various capacities. According to the state-owned oil monopoly, it has invited tenders for four 27-kilolitre tankers.

The daily demand for aviation fuel at TIA stands at 600 kilolitres. The requirement has been growing at the rate of 15-20 percent annually. The aviation fuel depot at TIA which has a capacity to store 7,000 kiloliters is NOC’s largest. During the peak season, TIA handles around 500 flights daily. Flights have been delayed due to refuelling delays caused by an inadequate number of tankers. An aircraft has to wait for at least half an hour for its turn to receive fuel. According to NOC, there is a need for at least 20 more tankers at the country’s eight major airports where traffic is high.

NOC maintains two tankers each at Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi airports, and one tanker each at Surkhet and Manthali airports.