United Airlines halts flights to South Africa due to jet fuel shortage in Cape Town

A fuel shortage issue at South Africa’s Cape Town International Airport has prompted United Airlines to temporarily halt its Newark (EWR) to Cape Town (CPT) return service.

The US carrier cancelled its EWR-CPT service scheduled to be operated on October 3, 2022, and October 4, 2022, according to News24.

Passengers who had booked flights on these days were notified of the cancellation on October 1, the report added.

“Your flight was cancelled because we were unable to fuel your plane,” United Airlines explained.

However, amid United’s efforts to reaccommodate passengers, the US airline noted that the flight status could still change.

According to United Airlines’ website, the airline is still operating EWR-CPT flights on canceled days via connecting flights to destinations in Europe and through Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB). These flights are operated by other international airlines, such as Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA), Ethiopian Airlines and S.A. Airlink with which the airline shares a partnership.

News of the cancellations comes as United Airline’s prepares to launch a new direct non-stop service between Washington Dulles Airport and Cape Town. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) granted the airline three weekly direct flights, which will commence on November 17, 2022, and will be operated by its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet.