http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991012/wl/italy_airport_2.html

Tuesday October 12 12:37 AM ET Rome Airport Runs Out Of Fuel, Forcing Delays

ROME (Reuters) - Rome's main airport ran out of jet fuel Monday, forcing the delay, cancellation and diversion of several flights.

Officials said the problem could repeat itself in coming days despite an emergency fuel delivery to Fiumicino airport after supplies dried up.

``This is the first time since 1961 that something like this has happened at Fiumicino,44 said Arnaldo Giroldi, a manager at SERAM, the company which manages refueling at the airport.

``We don4t know how this could have happened and who bears upstream responsibility for it,44 he told reporters, adding that SERAM had warned Fiumicino4s management Sunday that the tanks were almost running empty.

But Aeroporti di Roma, which operates Fiumicino along with Rome's smaller Ciampino airport, accused SERAM of failing to inform it in time of the problem and said it had filed an official complaint.

Air traffic controllers said five flights were cancelled, 14 delayed and six rerouted. Passengers were not pleased.

``I don4t want to appear anti-Italian but if things like this happen here I can understand that some people think of emigrating,44 said businessman Angelo Magalotti, whose flight to Havana was delayed by more than four hours.

Fuel ran out at 7 a.m., SERAM said. Giroldi said an emergency evening delivery would pump in 220,000 gallons of fuel and 1.54 million gallons should have arrived within 24 hours, above the average 880,000 gallons normally used per day.

Fiumicino warned that supplies could dry up again soon, saying that from Tuesday evening until midday Wednesday jet refueling might once again not be guaranteed.

-- flyguy (Fly@now.?), October 12, 1999

Answers

To The Top!

-- flyguy (Fly@now.?), October 12, 1999.

Atalia Airways paging Mr. Bennett, Mr. Robert Bennett, please check in at the boarding gate #42.

Last call for Mr. Bennett, Mr. Robert Bennett....

-- Grounded (Stay@Home.Jan1), October 12, 1999.

...at least Il Duce kept the trains running

-- Whassamattawityou (Geddaoutta@my.face), October 12, 1999.

not quite JIT ... inventory ... tracking ... ordering ... accounting ... transportation ... delivery ... gauging ... pumping ... JAE? gumming up the process, incrementally ... who knows?

Next year it will be because Fuel Production will have gone Jurrassic ;^) among other reasons

Now Rome is expecting how many millions of Jubilee visitors soon?

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 12, 1999.

Is this an "I guessed you so?" :-)

Real Reason Rome Airport was without fuel

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 12, 1999.

"Real reason the Rome airport was without fuel was printed in tommorow's edition in a german newspaper called BILD.

They report that the newly installed Computersystem in the Roman main rail terminal went haywire. Signals, Switches, etc. went nuts. Not one train went to or from Rome anywhere else.
200,000 travelers got stuck. That's the reason the trains carrying gas did not get through to the airport.

Don't worry though for the rest of this week the railyard workers are going on strike.

Story can be found at
http://www.bild.de/service/archiv/1999/oct/13/aktuell/rom/rom.html

This is a loose translation... "

-- STFrancis (STFrancis@heaven.com), October 12, 1999

-- A & L (trying to keep this one together) (allaha@earthlink.net), October 12, 1999.