Earlier this week, we reported that Fresno Yosemite International Airport was going through fuel shortage issues, leading to several frustrated passengers. It wasn’t clear what was causing the problem, but now there are answers.

Several changes

Between June 30th and July 4th, over 20 flights were diverted, delayed, or canceled at Fresno. To help get passengers to their destinations, planes were leaving their previous airport with extra fuel so they didn’t need to refill in Fresno. Others were receiving a small top-up at the Californian airport before stopping at another site on their way to their final destination.

According to The Fresno Bee, the cause of these challenges was a shortage of workforce. Namely, there were not enough truck drivers to deliver the jet fuel.

A word from the supplier

Chevron Corporation, which has contracts with carriers such as United Airlines and American Airlines, explained that there have been difficulties adapting to the ever-changing conditions as the economy restarts. Thus, there have been logistics and labor issues to keep the process seamless.

“As the U.S. economy continues to reopen, labor shortages and other logistics constraints have intermittently impacted the industry’s ability to supply fuel in a timely manner. These constraints have caused jet fuel shortages for our airline customers at the Fresno airport,” the statement said, as reported by The Fresno Bee.

“Chevron will continue to work diligently to manage these issues and reliably supply our customers at Fresno and other airports.”

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American Airlines added that “its fuel vendor experienced a brief issue late last week,” and it worked to limit the impact to its passengers. However, the company’s fuel systems are now back on the right path.

SkyWest Airlines noted that it went through some operational issues that created difficulties with services at the airport. Nonetheless, these problems have now been resolved, too.

Having to readjust

All in all, the pandemic forced several reshuffles across the whole supply chain. It has been well-publicized that airlines had to make tough calls when it came to their workforces amid the ongoing grounding of flights. However, these decisions had a domino effect across the wider market.

Now that passenger activity is returning at strong rates across the United States, stakeholders are having to catch up. Notably, several employees across the spectrum had been furloughed or found jobs elsewhere.

It may take some time to regroup across the industry following such an overhaul over the last year and a half. Regardless, airports, airlines, and suppliers will all be thankful that things are going in the right direction and will be doing everything they can to avoid another downturn.

What are your thoughts about the fuel shortages at Fresno Yosemite International Airport? What do you make of the cause of the issues at the site? Let us know what you think of the overall situation in the comment section.