Three days have passed since a mysterious jet fuel contamination brought air traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport to a halt, and authorities still do not know what caused the problem.

Paz Aviation Assets, one of the airport’s two major jet fuel providers, said Sunday that the German laboratory which received the contaminated fuel samples has yet to begin testing them.

The Israel Institute of Energy and Environment, which originally tested the oily substance found in the airport’s fueling terminal’s filters, was unable to recognize its molecular structure; prompting authorities to rush samples to a German laboratory used by the US military. They, however, are said to have refused to conduct the test. The reason for the refusal was not disclosed.

The changing reports as to new possible contaminations have sent Israel’s smaller airfield into chose: Sunday morning saw all flights at Sde Dov Airport temporarily suspended after concerns were raised that planes have refueled using a possibly contaminated reserve.

The Tel Aviv airfield also encountered difficulties using the clean fuel delivered to it from the Emergency Fuel Depository in Eilat.

The Airport Authority later cleared the airfield’s fuel depository for use, restoring it to normal activity, but officials say those few hours have caused gridlock at the airfield, prompting its captains to divert all flights to the Ben Gurion International Airport.

Deputy Director of Israeli airline Arkia Nir Dagan said Sunday that he “never encountered this kind of a crisis and the situation is only getting worse. Sde Dov Airport activities have been paralyzed with delays expected at Ben Gurion airport as well. And it is just getting worse.

“There is a severe fuel shortage at Ben Gurion Airport. Paz and Aviation Assets must provide answers because it is impossible to operate Israel’s civil aviation in this manner.”

Eilat airfield did not fare better: the fuel shortage and contamination concerns cause severe flight delays and hundreds of passengers are still stranded. Eilat’s lack of alternative airfield means that the situation there is worse than in other Israeli airfields.

(Source: Ynet)