LOGISTICS SERVICE, TO THE VERY END OF THE ROAD

FUEL BY SEA FOR ELBA ISLAND

The waters between the north of Corsica and Italy s coast lap the beautiful shores of the Italian island of Elba. Between June and September, the island s only airport Marina di Campo, welcomes many aviators and tourists, plus water bombers come to combat the sadly frequent fires of the summer months. JET A-1 is delivered to the airport s tanks by lorry on boats which make regular trips to and from the island. For AVGAS 100LL, under different transportation rules, it s a more complicated affair! Paolo Fiaschi, Head of Europe Sales at Total Aviation, tells us, To make the delivery, our distributor partner Magigas has to rent a specially dedicated boat. The merchant navy s safety regulations are clear: a lorry full of fuel must travel alone! The lorry gets on at Piombino and gets off at Portoferraio. The boat waits at the port until the

AVGAS 100LL has been fully unloaded before returning to Piombino. The whole operation takes two days. Quite the odyssey for such an enchanting island!

REACHING THE PEAKS OF SAINT CRÉPIN

Mont-Dauphin aerodrome at Saint Crépin rolls out its runway between the Écrins mountains and the Queyras natural regional park, 37 miles or so as the crow flies from the French city of Gap. Forget the crow, you re more likely to find a far stranger bird flying over the mountain peaks: gliders to be exact. During the summer months, this high terrain hosts gliders and their pilots borne by the mountain winds. A passion which depends on fuel before it can take off! And it is with pleasure that Sales Manager for France Benoît Tassel and his team serve this client. With an annual average of 200 m3 of JET A-1, which is mostly consumed between May and September, Saint-Crépin is a client with strong seasonal demand , explains Tassel, but we care about getting the fuel right where it needs to be . The tanker leaves the refinery at La Mède near Marseille and makes a round to deliver to four or five clients. Perched 950 metres above sea level at the very end of a mountain road, the small aerodrome always looks forward to the Total team s visit, in its magnificent natural setting. n

Pierre Marilly

What do I lose the most sleep over? Getting the timings right. Organising the tankers so we don t run out of fuel or have tanks hanging around on the sides of the runway. Cyril Cottet, Total Aviation s logistics coordinator

Marina di Campo airport.

Mont-Dauphin aerodrome at Saint Crépin.

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Contact: contactaviation@total.com