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Disused petrol pumps in London: According to the association, demand exceeds supply by hundreds of percent
Photo: Tayfun Salci / imago images / ZUMA Wire
Fuel is available, but in the "Lorry Crisis" in Great Britain there is a lack of truck drivers to supply the petrol stations. The bottleneck is already having serious consequences: According to the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents around 5,500 independent petrol stations, two thirds of the members no longer have any fuel. The demand is up to 500 percent higher, said association boss Brian Madderson the broadcaster BBC. Madderson said 50 to 90 percent of the gas stations were empty, with the rest of them threatened to dry up soon.
The newspapers "The Times" and the "Guardian" report that soldiers are now to step in as truck drivers at short notice.
A corresponding emergency plan, the so-called "Operation Escalin", is to be examined by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the cabinet on Monday, according to the Guardian.
So far there has not been any independent confirmation of this plan - it is also questionable how quickly it will work.
The Times reported that it could be days before the armed forces were operational.
Thousands of new work visas are supposed to ease the situation
There are currently bottlenecks in gasoline and diesel at numerous petrol stations in Great Britain, and for days there have been panic buying and long queues.
Several reasons are given for the huge shortage of truck drivers: Due to the corona pandemic, several driving lessons and tests have been postponed.
In particular, however, around 20,000 mainly Eastern European skilled workers emigrated because of the Brexit - and new, strict immigration rules are now preventing immigration.
In some cases, supermarkets also suffer severely from the shortage of drivers.
Industry associations saw the supply of food last week "on a knife's edge," and shelves remained empty in numerous shops.
To combat the problems, the government plans to issue work visas for up to 5,000 foreign truck drivers, among other things. Association chief Madderson criticized that the government project falls short. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had long resisted visa exemptions because one of Brexit's goals was to end free movement. With a package of measures, the government now also wants to enable tens of thousands of additional driving tests per year. In addition, working conditions are to be improved.
Economics minister Kwasi Kwarteng suspended competition rules on Sunday evening so that the industry can work together against the bottlenecks.
Kwarteng: "There are long-term contingency plans in place to work with the industry so that the fuel supply is maintained and deliveries can be made in the event of a serious disruption."
apr / dpa
