IOC moves fuel to Kerala from southern states (Lead)

Chennai : Energy major Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is meeting the entire aviation fuel needs of the Indian Air Force (IAF) flights in Kerala, moving the fuel from other southern states, said a senior official.

"The aviation fuel demand at Thiruvananthapuram airport has shot up drastically from about 180 kilo litres (KL) per day to about 550 KL/per day. We are moving the fuel from Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Mengaluru and even from Hyderabad," Sabitha Natraj, General Manager (Corporate Communications) South Zone, told IANS.

She said it was a logistical challenge for the IOC to cater to the increased needs of Kerala that was affected by floods as supplies to various markets had to be diverted without affecting the demand and supply situation anywhere.

An IOC official said the truck operators had to be cajoled to take the supplies to Kerala.

The fuel needs of civilian flights were also met by IOC at the Thiruvananthapuram airport.

Natraj said the IOC's aviation team reached the aviation turbine fuel to upcountry locations like Palakkad where IAF choppers operated rescue efforts.

From refuelling 8-10 flights per day, the flight numbers in the Kerala capital had shot up to 80-90 a day due to relief work post floods, she said.

According to her, IOC has also moved 1,861 KL of petrol and 1,913 KL of diesel from Madurai and Coimbatore and 523 KL of aviation fuel from Sankari in Salem district in Tamil Nadu and Chennai to Kerala between August 17 and 20.