Contaminated fuel grounds all flights at Israel's main airport

May 5, 2011, 13:44 GMT

Tel Aviv - Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport canceled all refueling Thursday, after a problem was found with the airport's fuel supply.

'We have instructed the manager of Ben Gurion Airport to stop filling gas in the airport's planes,' the Israel Aviation Authority reported.

Flights which refueled at the airport have been grounded, leaving thousands of passengers stranded, and foreign airlines needing refueling have been diverted to Cyprus, so they will have enough fuel to subsequently take off from Ben Gurion Airport.

Other airports, whose fuel source is identical to that of Ben Gurion, were also affected.

According to the Ynet News website, Paz Aviation Assets, one of two major jet fuel providers in Israel, said a malfunction occurred in filters belonging jointly to Paz and Mercury Aviation, another major provider. The filters are located at Ben Gurion's terminals, it added.

Paz claimed its fuel was checked and found to be pure, but that an oily substance of unknown origin had accumulated in Ben Gurion's filters. Mercury said it was still investigating the matter, Ynet said.

Ben Gurion Airport, located around 12 kilometres east of Tel Aviv, is the country's main international airport. In 2010, more than 12 million passengers passed through it.

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