By PATRICK ILUNGA

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The Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday said it plans to ration jet fuel following a severe shortage that has left it struggling with a pile-up of planes in Kinshasa.

The problem, which began on Monday, has seen flights, including Brussels Airlines from Kinshasa to Brussels, cancelled. The airline said it had to cater for 300 passengers affected by the cancellation after it failed to secure enough fuel.

“We needed extra jet fuel which could not be delivered as requested, so we were forced to cancel last Monday’s flight,” said Pierre-Yves Buysschaert, the General Manager of Brussels Airlines in DRC.

The Belgian company says it has since resumed its normal flight schedule.

But locally, other companies have announced the cancellation of some local flights due to a lack of Jet A1 fuel.

In a statement on Friday, state-owned Congo Airways said that due to a “shortage of jet A1 fuel throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo”, it has reduced frequency to some destinations; cancelled a number of flights; and changed flight times to deal with the crisis.

Officials in DRC say the war in Ukraine has increased the cost of importing jet fuel, meaning fewer importers are bringing the fuel in on time as they also say the commodity is in short supply globally.

DRC’s Minister for Hydrocarbons, Didier Budimbu, held an emergency meeting on Thursday to find a solution.

A contingency plan that includes rationing fuel has been put in place pending the arrival of new stocks next month.

According to Jimmy Nzimoto, Director of Operations at SEP Congo, a petroleum products distribution company, this stock shortage has not affected other petroleum products.

“There is no contingency plan for land-based fuel, that is, the fuel we use for our vehicles,” he said.