BP Quits Aviation Services in South Africa

Last year, South Africa’s authorities were enraged when BP refused to refuel Russian planes at South African airports out of fear of Western sanctions. But on Wednesday, BP entirely quit its contract to refuel planes at all airports across the country. It denies this change is linked to pressure from Pretoria. “A decision was taken to exit all of BP’s aviation activities; as an operator at the airports and direct supplier to airlines in South Africa. The decision was made as a result of Air BP’s current global business strategy,” says Hamlet Morule, BP’s head of external affairs for Southern Africa. Morule said that “as part of good business practice, Air BP reviews its portfolio on a continuous basis. In the light of its latest review, a decision was taken to exit all of BP’s aviation activities, as operator at the airports, and direct supplier to airlines, in SA. Acsa has told parliament that it would adopt a new refuelling plan to deal with a scenario “where a sanctioned friend of the SA government needs servicing and refuelling”. 

THE AFRICA REPORT