In fact, the plane at the airport was from Heathrow and no, the airline hasn’t started shuttle services between the two airports either. The presence of the Qantas plane at the airport is a sign of the ongoing fuel problems that airlines are having following the fire at the Buncefield oil depot in Hemel Hempstead in December.

Jo Bird of BAA, the firm which operates Heathrow, says: “BAA Heathrow has been able to maintain near-normal airport operations by implementing pre-arranged contingency plans since the Buncefield explosion in December. These plans include: working with our suppliers to ensure additional deliveries, asking airlines to bring in extra supplies, and a restriction of fuel. BAA and the airline community are currently in discussion to find a practical, medium term solution to the fuel shortage. BAA continues to work with airlines to ensure there is no disruption to passengers.”

However, passengers on many flights are being disrupted, as indicated by the presence of the Qantas plane at Stansted last night.

A Qantas spokeswoman says the fuel problem only affects services with the flight number QF2 between Heathrow and Sydney. “We do have to touch down on the outbound flight for some services to take on fuel. It is only the QF2 which has been affected and it doesn’t happen every day – it just depends on the amount of fuel we have at Heathrow.” She added that it takes 45 minutes to refuel at Stansted but that the plane’s arrival in Sydney was being delayed overall by 90 minutes.

Passengers on Singapore Airlines flight number SQ319 from Heathrow to Singapore are also being affected by the fuel shortages. Flights with this number, except those that leave on Fridays, are currently stopping over in Frankfurt for refuelling. This is causing arrival delays of an hour and 45 minutes. SQ317 and SQ321 flights on the same route fly non-stop.

The disruption is unlikely to be eased in the short term. Aviation industry magazine Flight Inernational.says Buncefield supplied almost a third of Heathrow’s aviation fuel and a solution may not be found until the summer. It adds that UK-based airlines are currently being prioritised ahead of overseas carriers for fuel.

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