Zurich Airport draws on state reserves as jet fuel supply tightens

Zurich Airport is drawing in part on Switzerland's mandatory fuel reserves after disruptions to international rail freight threatened its jet fuel stocks.

The Federal Office for National Economic Supply said failures and significant delays in international rail freight, particularly on routes from Germany, were affecting deliveries to the airport. Low water levels on the Rhine have pushed other cargo onto an already heavily used rail network, the office said, meaning the missed shipments could not be made up in time. Without extra measures, stocks at Zurich Airport would not be enough to bridge the shortfall.

Limited withdrawals from the country's mandatory stocks were approved by volume and by time. Between 15 October and 1 November 2026, up to 30,000 cubic metres of jet fuel may be drawn, the office said. That is 6.5 percent of the mandatory stock currently held.

The fuel tightness extends beyond Switzerland. Lufthansa instructed crews on flights to Frankfurt to carry more fuel, so that they can avoid refuelling there or need to take on less. The airline attributed the move to the low level of the Rhine, which hampers access for tanker vessels, and to maintenance work on a pipeline.

The office gave no indication of when rail deliveries were expected to return to normal. It described the withdrawal from reserves as limited in both duration and quantity.