FORT SIMPSON - Aircraft landing at the Fort Simpson airport have been alerted to bring enough fuel to continue their flights.

On April 16 the fuel tanks at the airport ran dry, said Daniel Auger, assistant deputy minister with the Department of Transportation.

Because of the lack of jet fuel at the Fort Simpson airport, Operation Narwhal has been using Griffon helicopters to sling their own fuel in from across the Liard River. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

"It's not a situation we like to be in," he said.

The last of the fuel was used by a Boeing 727 chartered by the Department of National Defence that landed at the airport and refueled as part of Operation Narwhal. The fuel shortage, however, cannot be blamed on the exercise, said Auger.

The last of the fuel could have been used by any incoming flight, it just happened to be an aircraft chartered by the Department of National Defence that was the last customer, Auger said.

The fuel shortage resulted when the supplier, Norman Wells Petroleum, had difficulty bringing fuel to the airport, said Auger. The Department of Transportation enters into land leases with distributors who put tanks on the airport properties and are responsible for bringing fuel to the airports and for retail sales.

Officials at the airport were aware that the fuel supplies were running low. The airport manager contacted Norman Wells Petroleum and it was hoped that fuel would have been delivered before the ice crossing closed, Auger said.

To his knowledge, Auger said that no flights to the village had been cancelled because of the lack of fuel. A notice was sent out to make all carriers aware that no fuel was available at the airport and they would have to carry enough to reach another fueling point, he said.

Since the fuel ran dry the Canadian Forces' have been using Griffon helicopters to sling their own fuel into the airport from across the Liard River.

Options are being discussed to keep this situation from occurring again, said Auger.

Additional fuel cannot be brought to the airport until the Liard River ferry is in service. Over the past five years the ferry has had an average opening date of May 16.

The fuel shortage was the result of a lack of funds, said Winter Lennie, one of the owners and managers of Norman Wells Petroleum.

The company was told there would be a huge demand for fuel from Operation Narwhal but was unable to obtain the exact details of the fuel requirements until it was too late, said Lennie.

When an amount was decided on, the company didn't have the funds to pay for the fuel purchase and their supplier wouldn't extend a line of credit, he said. The fuel couldn't be transported before the ice crossing closed.

It would have cost close to $60,000 to bring in another 50,000 litres to place in the tanks, Lennie said.

This is the first fuel shortage to occur in the three and a half years Norman Wells Petroleum has operated at the airport, said Lennie.

Normally enough fuel is put into the tanks to last from break up until the ferry is put into service.

Lennie disagrees that the Canadian Forces operation was not to blame for the fuel shortage.

Prior to the ice-crossing closure there were approximately 20,000 litres left in the tanks. This amount of fuel would have been enough to service carriers such as Air Tindi and First Air, said Lennie. He added there had been few fuel sales prior to break-up.

It would have been enough if Operation Narwhal were not there, said Lennie.

The company is now debating whether they will continue the fueling service.

Lennie said the company doesn't feel it has the support of the aviation community, Lennie said.

Because the company sells fuel at a slightly higher price than suppliers at other airports and charges a call out fee each time a fuel request is made, many aviation companies only buy a minimal amount of fuel when they need to, said Lennie.

But without higher fuel sales, the company can't lower their prices, he said.

"We're very unhappy with the aviation community," said Lennie.