First the failure of the ENAV data network, which on 16 October had slowed down air traffic from Malpensa to Catania. Now the trouble is on the ground, in the warehouses. The protest of hauliers against expensive diesel fuel has blocked supplies of kerosene in various airports in the South, and Enav had to warn pilots with a series of Notams, the official bulletins intended for those who fly (the Enav portal is under maintenance, therefore it is not available at the moment).
Dry Calabria
The most serious situation concerns Calabria. In Crotone the Jet A-1 will not be available until midnight between Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th October, in Reggio Calabria until midnight between Saturday and Sunday. The crews must therefore also take on board the fuel for the subsequent routes upon departure. Lamezia Terme, according to ENAV, works without problems.
Naples, Salerno and Catania
In Campania, Gesac, which manages Capodichino and Salerno, already obtained a Notam on 20 October on the limited availability of fuel and asked the prefecture to guarantee the passage of tankers to the depots in Naples, access to which is hindered by the blockades. The same warning, in the last few hours, also appeared for Catania. For the moment the Calabrian flight program would not have undergone changes. Wizz Air, however, has already put its hand forward: the low-cost company speaks of possible “operational limitations” on Italian connections and asks the authorities to intervene urgently to restore supplies.
A patchy protest
On the roads the picture remains confused. In Catania the strike was called off during the night after a summit in the prefecture, in Calabria the stoppage of trucks is announced until 27 October. The government has released 480 million to compensate for the high cost of fuel from March to October, and minister Adolfo Urso claims that the associations have suspended all forms of protest. However, sporadic garrisons and blockades remain. At the airports of Crotone and Reggio, meanwhile, the tanks remain empty at least until the weekend.
